The interconnected development of depressive symptoms and school functioning from mid-adolescence to early adulthood: A piecewise growth mixture analysis.

Abstract

This study seeks to identify profiles of depressive symptoms trajectories among a sample of 2,696 Finnish students (56.8% female), followed from 13–14 to 18–19 years old. Piecewise growth mixture analyses identified 5 trajectories: Low Stabilizing (6.20%), Mild Increasing (47.90%), Moderate Stabilizing (36.82%), Low Increasing (3.62%), and High Stable (5.46%). Relative to boys, girls experienced more problematic depressive symptoms trajectories. The study also assesses whether achievement goals growth predicts depression trajectories, and whether school burnout and engagement growth trajectories can be positioned as outcomes of depression trajectories. Adopting mastery-intrinsic and mastery-extrinsic goals was associated with a lower risk of feeling depressed, whereas adhering to performance-approach or performance-avoidance goals was associated with a higher risk of corresponding to a problematic trajectory-profile. School burnout and engagement trajectories closely matched youth depressive symptoms trajectory-profiles, except for youth corresponding to a High Stable profile who experienced an increase in their school engagement.

Trait anxiety predicting the developmental trajectories of depression symptoms in children: The mediating role of attentional control

“…Consistent with previous findings by Ezpeleta et al (2020) and Olivier et al (2022), which revealed a low trajectory and a high trajectory of depression symptoms, the present study also identified two trajectories of depression symptoms during the transition into early adolescence, which comprised the trajectory of low depression symptoms (85.6%) and the trajectory of high depression symptoms (14.4%). Although the trajectories were not stable (decreased from T1 to T2 and increased from T2 to T3) across the transition into early adolescence, the general level of depression symptoms (low and high) remained constant across the period, which was consistent with previous studies (Ezpeleta et al, 2020;Olivier et al, 2022).…”

Mental health and educational attainment: How developmental stage matters.

“…Inasmuch as they doubt that their lives are going well, they will likely be less action-oriented and display fewer behaviors that would otherwise allow them to achieve success in various domains. Depressive symptomatology thus creates conditions that prevent positive human potential, motivation, and persistence, hampering performance and potentially educational attainment as well (Berndt et al, 2000; Fletcher, 2010; Olivier et al, 2023).…”

Profiles of climate change distress and climate denialism during adolescence: A two-cohort longitudinal study

“…In a Finnish study of young people, a group characterized by low climate change-related well-being and high rates of PEB had significantly more depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem than the other participants (Veijonaho & Salmela-Aro, 2022). Overall, the declining well-being of students at all levels of education has been a concern in Finland (Olivier et al, 2023; Read et al, 2022). More research is therefore needed on all aspects that affect the overall well-being of young people.…”