Developmental Dynamics of Negative Automatic Thoughts in Childhood and Gender Differences: A Longitudinal Investigation Based on Depressive Symptoms and Peer Attachment

Negative automatic thoughts are a core manifestation of cognitive vulnerability and a key mechanism linking depressive symptoms and peer attachment, two major developmental processes during childhood, with effects that extend into adolescence. However, little research has examined how negative automatic thoughts interact with depressive symptoms and peer attachment over time, especially during childhood when thinking patterns are still developing. It is also unclear whether these processes differ by gender.This study employed a four-wave random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) to examine the bidirectional dynamic relationships among depressive symptoms, peer attachment, and negative automatic thinking in Chinese children, along with gender differences. The sample comprised 993 children ( M_age=9.57 years, SD = 0.70), including 357 girls (35.9%) and 636 boys (64.1%). The results revealed that, in the RI-CLPM, depressive symptoms, peer attachment, and negative automatic thinking were significantly associated at the between-person level. At the within-person level, bidirectional relationships were found between depressive symptoms and negative automatic thinking, as well as between peer attachment and depressive symptoms. Additionally, peer attachment had a unidirectional predictive effect on negative automatic thinking. Furthermore, a predictive effect of negative automatic thinking on peer attachment was found only in the male model. These findings reveal the risk and protective mechanisms in children’s cognitive development and their gender differences, highlighting the plasticity of negative automatic thoughts during childhood and providing a theoretical basis and practical reference for targeted mental health education and early intervention.