Depressive Symptoms and Academic Achievement: The Role of Adolescents’ Perceptions of Teachers’ and Peers’ Behaviors

This present study, using a longitudinal design, investigated how depressive symptoms are related to academic achievement and whether the perceptions of teachers’ and peers’ behaviors moderated this relation. A sample of 302 adolescents (60.10% girls, M_age = 17.35) completed scales measuring the depressive symptoms and perception of their teachers’ support/equity and peers’ cooperation/cohesiveness behaviors at Time 1. The adolescents’ average grades were also collected. The adolescents’ depressive symptoms and average grades were measured again at Time 2. The results showed that depressive symptoms measured at Time 1 were negatively associated with academic achievement measured at Time 2. The adolescents’ perception of their peers’ cooperation/cohesiveness moderated the relation between depressive symptoms and academic achievement. The results’ implications for educational practice are discussed.     

Exploring hope as a mediator between religiosity and depression in adolescents

ABSTRACT

Multiple studies have found an inverse relationship between adolescent religiosity and adolescent depression. However, further research is needed to better understand the complexity of this relationship. One potential mediator that may help to explain this relationship is hope. Prior research has found that adolescent religiosity is predictive of increased adolescent hope and that higher levels of adolescent hope have been associated with multiple positive outcomes, including mental health in adolescents. However, no research has explored the mediational role of hope between religiosity and depressive symptoms in adolescents. Cross-sectional data from 459 adolescents were used to test this mediational or indirect effect. The direct effect between religiosity and depressive symptoms was not significant. However, there was a significant indirect effect whereby higher levels of adolescent religiosity were associated with higher levels of adolescent hope, which in turn were associated with lower levels of adolescent depressive symptoms.     

Cognitive Self‐Regulation and Depression: Examining Academic Self‐Efficacy and Goal Characteristics in Youth of a Northern Plains Tribe

The relationship between cognitive self‐regulatory processes and depression was examined in American Indian adolescents from a Northern Plains tribe. Students completed measures of negative life events, self‐efficacy, goals, and depressive symptoms. Results indicated that academic self‐efficacy was strongly associated with depression. Academic self‐efficacy also correlated with intrinsically motivating goal representations, such that students who indicated high academic self‐efficacy had goals that were more important to them, goals they thought more about, and goals they viewed as wanted by the self instead of as imposed on by others. However, we did not find the hypothesized mediational model in which academic self‐efficacy influenced depression indirectly by influencing goal characteristics. Rather, this indirect model varied by grade, and differed from what we expected. Specifically, for older adolescents, higher levels of academic self‐efficacy predicted goals that were more likely to be identified as the adolescent's own, and in turn, these self‐ as opposed to other‐oriented goals predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms. Results are discussed as providing support for continued investigations into the role of specific cognitive self‐regulatory processes in youth adjustment.     

Self‐Perceived Competence in Mainland China: A Multiwave Longitudinal Examination of Internalizing Symptoms in Chinese Adolescents

The present 9‐wave, 2‐year study examined whether Cole's (1991) theory of self‐perceived competence could help explain vulnerability to depressive and anxiety symptoms in a sample of adolescents from mainland China. Participants included 624 adolescents (319 females and 305 males) from an urban school in Changsha (n = 308) and from a rural school in Liuyang (n = 316). Findings showed that self‐perceived academic competence was negatively associated with prospective depressive and anxiety symptoms. Meanwhile, adolescents with low levels of self‐perceived social competence were at heightened risk for depressive symptoms during times of increased stressors (supporting a vulnerability‐stress model). These findings advance past research by highlighting new developmental pathways for depressive and anxiety symptoms in Chinese adolescents.     

Analysis of the changing relationship between peer acceptance and academic achievement in adolescents / Análisis de la relación variable entre la aceptación entre iguales y el rendimiento académico de los adolescentes

Peer interactions in the context of group-level relationships have significant consequences on social adjustment across the lifespan of children and adolescents. Indeed, peer relations change systematically with individuals’ development. This study examined the effect of positive peer interactions measured as peer acceptance on academic achievement during the adolescence developmental stage. Participants were 766 students aged 11–16 years old. Adolescents completed a sociometric measure of peer acceptance. Academic achievement data were obtained from students’ report card grades. Regression analyses indicated that peer acceptance predicted academic achievement, and also a moderation effect was found displaying a higher impact of peer acceptance on academic achievement for younger adolescents than for older adolescents. It is suggested that improving peer relationships within the group, especially at early adolescence, can be a target of intervention to improve academic functioning at school.     

Environmental Correlates of Depressive Symptoms Among African American Adolescents Living in Public Housing

Abstract

Using a sample of 238 African American adolescents living in public housing, this study assesses the prevalence of depressive symptoms and examines the relationship between depressive symptoms and neighborhood characteristics. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 34. Males (M = 20) reported significantly higher depressive symptoms than females (M = 16). Results show a significant relationship between ambient risk and depressive symptoms. The relationship between ambient risk and depressive symptoms was exacerbated by exposure to delinquent peers. Parental factors and attitude towards deviance buffered the relationship between ambient risk and depressive symptoms. These findings may have important implications for social policy and suggest that interventions to prevent depression among African American adolescents, living in public housing developments, must not only focus on reducing neighborhood risk factors but also on enhancing the protective factors available to the youth.     

A Multilevel Analysis of Gender Differences in Psychological Distress Over Time

Females have higher rates of depression than males, a disparity that emerges in adolescence and persists into adulthood. This study uses hierarchical linear modeling to assess the effects of school context on gender differences in depressive symptoms among adolescents based on two waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N=9,709 teens, 127 schools). Analysis indicates significant school‐level variation in both overall symptom levels and the average gender gap in depression net of prior symptoms and individual‐level covariates. Aggregate levels of depressive symptomatology were positively associated with contextual‐level socioeconomic status (SES) disadvantage. A cross‐level contingency emerged for the relationship between gender and depressive symptoms with school SES and aggregate perceived community safety such that the gender “gap” was most apparent in contexts characterized by low SES disadvantage and high levels of perceived safety. These results highlight the importance of context to understanding the development of mental health disparities.     

Youth–Family,Youth–School Relationship,and Depression

This study sought to examine the association between adolescents’ relationship with family and school and depressive symptoms across ethnic/racial groups (White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian), and to test potentially unique explanatory power in youth–family relationship versus youth–school relationship, in a sample of 4,783 adolescents. Depressive symptoms were assessed with a 19-item, modified Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). The results indicated that youth–family relationship and youth–school relationship were significant predictors of adolescent depression. However, the findings of the study indicated that unique contributions by youth–family relationship and youth–school relationship were different by racial/ethnic groups. These findings elucidate protective factors for adolescent depression and highlight the importance of cultural context of each racial/ethnic group.     

Achievement Orientations,School Adjustment,and Well-being: A Longitudinal Study

This study set out to identify the kinds of achievement orientations that adolescents show, and to examine the kinds of antecedents and consequences the use of a particular orientation has. The participants were 734 Swedish adolescents (335 boys and 399 girls) who filled in questionnaires measuring their achievement beliefs and behaviors, depressive symptoms, engagement with school, and norm-breaking behavior. By using clustering-by-cases analysis, five achievement orientation groups were identified: optimism, defensive-pessimism, self-handicapping, and learned helplessness, and a group showing average levels of criteria variables. The results showed further that a decrease in depressive symptoms and an increase in engagement with school predicted a move to the use of optimistic and defensive-pessimistic groups, whereas a reverse pattern predicted a move to the helplessness and self-handicapping groups. Moreover, the optimistic and defensive-pessimistic achievement orientations at Time 1 predicted an increase in engagement with school and a decrease in depressive symptoms later on, whereas self-handicapping and learned helplessness predicted a decrease in engagement with school and increases in depressive symptoms and norm-breaking behavior.     

Adolescents’ experiences of school belonging: a qualitative meta-synthesis

School belonging is associated with positive social and academic outcomes. This meta-synthesis aimed to explore adolescents’ accounts of the experience of school belonging, and to promote their understanding of this experience in order to inform policy and practice. A meta-ethnographic methodology was used; this involved a process of reciprocal translation and subsequent synthesis of eight qualitative studies. The synthesis generated four main concepts: (1) school belonging and intersubjectivity; (2) school belonging and knowledge, understanding and acceptance of individual identity; (3) school belonging and experiences of in-group membership and (4) school belonging and safety/security. The synthesis of translation generated the higher-order concept of school belonging as ‘feeling safe to be yourself in and through relationships with others in the school setting’. This concept considers the experience of school belonging for adolescents as a foundational prerequisite of academic engagement and achievement. The implications of these findings for education, social care and mental health practitioners and policymakers are discussed.     

Predicting Adolescents' Organized Activity Involvement: The Role of Maternal Depression History,Family Relationship Quality,and Adolescent Cognitions

Although the potential benefits of organized activity involvement during high school have been documented, little is known about what familial and individual characteristics are associated with higher levels of participation. Using structural equation modeling, this longitudinal study examined the extent to which maternal depression history (i.e., risk), family relationship quality, and adolescents' cognitions (i.e., self‐worth and attributional style), predicted organized activity involvement during high school among 145 adolescents, controlling for socioeconomic status and adolescent depressive symptoms. Results showed that risk predicted less adolescent high school activity involvement, and this relation was mediated by family relationship quality. Family relationship quality indirectly affected activity involvement through adolescent cognitions. The overall predictive model generally supported the importance of the interplay between family and individual factors in predicting activity involvement during high school.     

Perceptual Discrepancy Profiles of Social Competence and Their Interrelations With Depressive Symptoms Among Early Adolescents

We examined the perceptual discrepancy profiles between self‐ and peers, and self‐ and teacher evaluations of adolescents’ social competence (SC) and the interrelations of these profiles with self‐reported depressive symptoms. The participants were 390 Finnish lower secondary school pupils. Latent profile analysis revealed five classes of discrepancy profiles; adolescents with congruent perceptions, quite congruent perceptions, and positively discrepant perceptions of SC reported lower scores of depressive symptoms, whereas those with negatively and extremely positively discrepant perceptions of SC reported the highest scores of depressive symptoms. The larger the discrepancy between self‐ and others’ evaluations of SC were, the more depressive symptoms were reported. The results indicate that interventions designed to mitigate depression need to be tailored to individual needs.     

Self Processes in Adolescent Depression: The Role of Self‐Worth Contingencies

Although biased self‐evaluation is a component of several disorders, most measures focus on the content of self‐concepts or level of self‐worth rather than the process by which self‐worth is maintained. This longitudinal study examines the distinctive role of self‐worth contingencies—the extent to which adolescents link self‐worth to external feedback and success in four domains (social, academic, activities, and appearance) in the development of depressive symptoms among a sample of 110 adolescents (age mean=13.62, SD=.52; 58.2% girls). Contingencies predicted change in depressive symptoms over time, but depressive symptoms did not predict change in contingencies over time. This pattern did not hold for the association between self‐worth and depression. Findings provide support for contingencies as a predictor, rather than a symptom, of depressive symptoms among adolescents. Evaluation of contingencies as a diathesis revealed an interaction effect for the social, but not academic domain. The findings have implications self‐worth contingencies as an important cognitive vulnerability to depressive symptoms during adolescence.     

War Traumas and Community Violence

SUMMARY

This cross-sectional survey study examined the relationship between exposure to war traumas and community violence and academic, behavioral, and psychological well-being among Khmer refugee adolescents. The 144 adolescents studied were exposed to high rates of violence. One third had symptoms indicative of PTSD and two thirds had symptoms indicative of clinical depression. The number of violent events they were exposed to significantly predicted their level of PTSD, personal risk behaviors, and GPA, but not their level of depression or behavior problems reported at school. Perceived social support made a difference in the lives of these youth and predicted better outcomes. The implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids and Condom Use: Potential Mechanisms in Adolescent Males

Previous research has revealed a significant bivariate relationship between anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use and reduced condom use among adolescent boys. However, to date, no known studies have explored the psychological mechanisms that may explain this relationship. Thus, the current study sought to examine two possible mediators in the association between AAS and condom use: depressive symptoms and substance use. Data were extracted from a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents. Participants were 3,780 U.S. high school boys who responded to self-report items assessing a number of health behaviors, including symptoms of depression, substance use, AAS use, and use of condoms during their most recent act of intercourse. Both depression and substance use were significant mediators in the relationship between AAS and condom use. However, when these effects were contrasted, the indirect effect of substance use was significantly stronger in magnitude than the effect of depression. Although AAS use was associated with sexual risk behaviors among adolescent boys, significant variance in this relationship was accounted for by elevated levels of depression and substance use, with substance use demonstrating a particularly salient pathway.     

A Qualitative Evaluation of a Mentor Program for At-Risk Youth: The Participants' Perspective

This article presents a qualitative evaluation of the first year of a mentor program for at-risk high school youth in a low income urban setting with high rates of youth and violent crime. Pre and posttest data were collected employing a standardized set of open-ended questions regarding the program and the mentees' relationships with their mentors. Overall there appears to be congruence between the mentees' expectations at pretest and posttest outcomes. Most were overwhelmingly positive about the program, developed a valued relationship with their mentors, and secured concrete benefits as well (e.g., employment and greater academic achievement). Two mentors who had a leadership role were also interviewed. Case studies of four of the adolescents are presented along with implications for practice.     

Disengaged or Bookworm: Academics,Mental Health,and Success for Sexual Minority Youth

Same‐sex attracted youth (SSAY) experience higher rates of negative mental health outcomes compared with their heterosexual peers; however, the association between sexual minority status and academic achievement is less clear. We used four waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to compare 1,279 ethnically diverse SSAY (57% male) based on the degree to which they were “engaged” (65%) or “disengaged” (35%) in school, classified through cluster analysis techniques. The pattern of results indicated significantly better mental health among the engaged group one and 6 years later (e.g., fewer depressive symptoms, less alcohol use), and more occupational and educational achievement eleven years later. The implications of school connection and achievement across a decade of life are discussed.     

The Interpersonal Relationships and Social Perceptions of Adolescent Perfectionists

This study investigated the relationship between multidimensional perfectionism, self‐reported interpersonal relationships, and peer‐reported prosocial, disruptive, and academic behaviors among a general sample of 984 9th‐grade adolescents. Cut‐scores from the Almost Perfect Scale‐Revised (APS‐R; Slaney, Rice, Mobley, Trippi, & Ashby, 2001 ) classified adolescents as adaptive perfectionists, maladaptive perfectionists, and nonperfectionist. Adaptive perfectionists reported significantly higher levels of positive interpersonal relationships than maladaptive perfectionists or nonperfectionists. Further, peers rated both perfectionism groups as more prosocial and less disruptive than nonperfectionists. Adaptive perfectionists were more liked than maladaptive perfectionists. Implications of these findings, particularly as they pertain to the nomothetic understanding of multidimensional perfectionism among older, school‐aged adolescents conclude the paper.     

Gender differences in symptoms of depression among adolescents.

In this paper, we examine sources of gender differences in depressive symptoms among adolescents. Using data collected from a self-administered survey of 306 high school students, we examine differences in the impact of life events, psychosocial resources, and parent-child relationships on levels of psychological distress. Our results confirm a substantial gender difference in level of psychological distress. Moreover, analyses indicate that this gender difference may be due largely to higher levels of self-esteem among males and a tendency for adolescents to perceive their fathers to be overprotective. There is, however, also evidence that other psychosocial resources and parent-child relationships are implicated in this gender difference. We also present analyses to support our contention that parent-child relationships have important effects on the development of psychosocial resources of adolescents that, in turn, influence levels of depressive symptoms.     

Participation in Athletics and Academic Achievement: A Replication and Extension*

Accumulating research based upon cross-sectional designs has shown relationships between involvement in athletics and academic achievement and aspiration. These results have been interpreted as contrary to Coleman's early conclusion that athletics diverted talent from academic programs. However, more recent study of this relationship in five metropolitan high schools seriously questions the causal interpretation of the effects of high school athletics upon academic achievement. Athletes have higher GPAs at the end of their high school career than at the start, but they do not gain as much as nonathletes over the years of high school, thus experiencing a relative decline in achievement. These results replicate an earlier study in twenty Wisconsin high schools. These similar results obtained in schools separated in time and space support Coleman's original view of the effect of athletics.