School factors and the emergence of depressive symptoms among young Norwegian adolescents

Abstract

The aims of this study were to examine correlates of self-reported depressive symptoms within the school area, and possible predictors of change in depressive symptom levels over a 1-year period in a large representative sample of 12 to 15-year-old adolescents in central Norway. The school variables were: school stress, class wellbeing, teacher support, and grades. Possible confounding factors were age, SES, ethnicity, and parental divorce. We also examined the strengths of these relationships. In the cross-sectional multivariate analyses of the whole sample, at time-point one (T1), all four school factors were independently associated with depressive symptom levels at small to moderate levels. In the longitudinal multivariate analyses of the whole sample, self-reported depressive symptom levels at time-point two (T2) were predicted by depressive symptom levels at T1, gender and teacher support. For girls, three of the school variables significantly predicted depressive symptom levels at T2, while this was not the case for boys. Prevention in schools might be of importance.

Depressive symptoms and the associations with individual, psychosocial, and structural determinants in Swedish adolescents

“…Given the cross sectional design, conclusions on directions of causality are not possible. However, longitudinal studies of self-efficacy [8], low teacher support [11], and bullying [32] have showed an increased risk for depressive symptoms. Because the data were self-reported, the accuracy of the results depends solely on respondents' subjective assessments.…”

“…However, previous findings on the effects of low self-esteem and low self-efficacy are inconsistent, and in studies where effects have been found, they have been small [9]. Psychosocial determinants have been proposed, such as the school environment, including demands in school [10] and social support [11]. Furthermore, strained peer and parental relations are associated with elevated levels of psychological distress [12].…”

Associations between school-related factors and depressive symptoms among children: A comparative study, Finland and Norway

“…This result is parallel with Boulard and colleagues' (2012) study, where being a target of verbal aggression has a clearly stronger association with a depressive mood than poor self-perceived academic achievement. Further, Undheim and Sund (2005) found an association between depressive symptoms and poor teacher support but no connection with depressive symptoms and poor self-perceived academic achievement among 12-yearold girls. More studies on the issue would be required to clarify the connections between school-related characteristics and depressive symptoms.…”

A meta-analysis of the longitudinal relationship between adolescent depression and academic achievement.

“…Feshbach and Feshbach (1987) describe a longitudinal sequence in which depressive symptomology at ages 8 and 9 predicts poorer academic performance two years later, particularly for girls. Undheim and Sund (2005) similarly found that a statistically significant longitudinal relationship between achievement and subsequent depression, only among female participants. Huang's 2015 meta-analysis of 43 studies related to achievement and subsequent depression indicated that biological sex was not a statistically significant moderator of the relationship between achievement and subsequent depression.…”

“…Previous large-scale longitudinal studies indicate that depression is not correlated with subsequent educational attainment (Breslau et al, 2008;Hanson et al, 2004;Miech et al, 1999;Needham, 2009), while other studies yielded a statistically significant negative effect of adolescent depression on graduation rates and postsecondary education (Fletcher 2008;Needham 2009). Fewer primary studies examined the impact of achievement on subsequent depression, but there is limited evidence that achievement problems predict future depressive symptomology (Feshbach et al, 1987;Huang, 2015;Undheim et al, 2005).…”