Findings provide support for the Hopelessness Theory of depression and modest support for the Response Styles Theory (RST) of depression. The development of depression and depressive symptoms during preadolescence no doubt results from multiple risks factors, such as stressful life events, personality variables, and coping styles. Therefore, it is important to continue examining the interrelationships between multiple risk factors to develop accurate models of the onset of childhood and adolescent depressive symptoms. The results suggest that multiple risk factor models may be most meaningful for older preadolescents as their cognitive capabilities become more complex and stable. Over the past few decades, interest in childhood and adolescent depression has increased substantially. This study was designed to explore the interrelationships between stress, rumination (thoughts), sense of control, and depressive symptoms in a preadolescent sample. The study had four primary objectives: (1) test the prediction that both rumination and perceived control would moderate the relationship between stress and depressive symptoms; (2) test the prediction that both rumination and perceived control would at least partially mediate the relationship between stress and depressive symptoms; (3) explore the comparative strengths of rumination and sense of control as mediators between stress and depressed mood; and (4) determine if perceived control mediated the relationship between rumination and depressive symptoms and if this relationship was different between older and younger preadolescents and between males and females. It was predicted that perceived control would mediate the relationship between rumination (thoughts) and depressed mood, and that this relationship would be similar across age and gender. Three hundred and ten adolescents, both male and female from 12 schools throughout the Central New Zealand region participated in the study. Figures, references