Zhang BR, Tian SY. Social cognition in adolescent depression: Evolution of research content and future perspectives. World J Psychiatry 2025; 15(10): 110598 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i10.110598]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Bing-Ren Zhang, PhD, Lecturer, School of Clinical Medicine, Hangzhou Normal University, No. 2318 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 311121, Zhejiang Province, China. bingrenz@hznu.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Psychiatry
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Psychiatry. Oct 19, 2025; 15(10): 110598 Published online Oct 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i10.110598
Social cognition in adolescent depression: Evolution of research content and future perspectives
Bing-Ren Zhang, Si-Yu Tian
Bing-Ren Zhang, Si-Yu Tian, School of Clinical Medicine, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Zhang BR conceived the study and drafted the original paper; Tian SY helped collect the materials; Both of the authors revised it and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 82101595.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Bing-Ren Zhang, PhD, Lecturer, School of Clinical Medicine, Hangzhou Normal University, No. 2318 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 311121, Zhejiang Province, China. bingrenz@hznu.edu.cn
Received: June 11, 2025 Revised: June 27, 2025 Accepted: August 4, 2025 Published online: October 19, 2025 Processing time: 108 Days and 18.1 Hours
Abstract
Social cognition constitutes a fundamental component in establishing and maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships, achieving social goals, and effectively regulating emotions within social contexts. Inspired by a recent study examining the chain mediating roles of perceived social adversity and security in the relationship between impulsive personality and suicidal behaviors among depressed adolescents, this editorial synthesizes advances in social cognition research specific to adolescent depression. Research methodologies, theoretical frameworks, and neuroscientific insights in this domain have evolved substantially over the past fifteen years. Whereas earlier investigations primarily emphasized broad behavioral observations, contemporary research increasingly integrates neuroimaging techniques, computational modeling, and refined experimental paradigms. Current understanding of specific cognitive biases such as distinctions between interpretive and attentional biases has also grown more nuanced. This editorial reflects the evolving nature of the field by presenting shifts in research focus and demonstrating how these changes have deepened our understanding of social-cognitive functioning in adolescent depression. Building on this synthesis, we outline limitations of extant research and suggest promising directions for future inquiry.
Core Tip: Empirical evidence accumulated over the past 15 years indicates that adolescent depression is associated with diverse social-cognitive impairments, which appear implicated in the etiology, progression, and maintenance of the disorder. Advancing longitudinal, cross-cultural comparative, and intervention research remains imperative. Elucidating neurobiological mechanisms, identifying protective factors, and strategically leveraging emerging technologies constitute critical pathways for developing more effective, individualized prevention and intervention approaches for depressed adolescents. Collectively, these advances promise to foster healthier socioemotional development and enhance overall well-being in this population.
