The longitudinal association between internalizing symptoms and academic achievement among immigrant and non‐immigrant children in Norway

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the longitudinal relation between internalizing symptoms and academic achievement, as two processes of children and youth development, among children in Norway, and whether having an immigrant background moderated this association. Data collected from 4,458 students in Norway in four waves over three years were analyzed with multi-group latent growth curve modeling (LGM). Results showed that internalizing symptoms level remained unchanged over time both for immigrant and non-immigrant children, while levels of academic achievement increased only for children of immigrants with both parents born outside of Norway. Further analyses supported a reciprocal relation between internalizing symptoms and academic achievement and revealed that the initial level of academic achievement predicted the rate of change in internalizing symptoms over time, but not vice versa. Moreover, immigrant background did not moderate the associations in the model, however, children of immigrants with both parents born abroad initially had lower levels of academic achievement, but showed an increase in academic achievement, compared to their non-immigrant peers as well as to peers with one native-born parent after controlling for gender and their grade at the first observation. The implications for policy and practice were discussed.

Transactions between Problem Behaviors and Academic Performance in Early Childhood

“…Prior research has suggested that externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors and poor academic performance function reciprocally and contribute to later maladjustment and school failure (e.g., [ 11 , 13 ]). This study further identified bidirectional relationships between externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors and academic achievement in early childhood; these relationships were identified earlier than those observed in most prior longitudinal studies, which have identified bidirectional relationships between academic performance and externalizing problem behaviors (e.g., [ 11 , 13 , 18 , 19 ]) and internalizing problem behaviors (e.g., [ 13 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]) from middle childhood through adolescence.…”

“…Some studies identified bidirectional linkages between depression, anxiety, and general internalizing symptoms and academic achievement over time. Keles and colleagues [ 29 ] identified reciprocal relations between general internalizing symptoms and academic ratings in a longitudinal cohort of Norwegian students from fourth to seventh grade. Verboom and colleagues [ 30 ] examined the associations between depressive symptoms and academic performance in a longitudinal study of Dutch adolescents between the ages of 10 and 18 years.…”

The Relationship Between Family Functioning and Internalizing Problems in Chinese Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model

“…For instance, researchers have reported that poor family functioning had a more negative effect on life satisfaction in migrant children than in local-born children (Hou et al, 2009;Yuan et al, 2019). However, several other studies took the opposite view, arguing that despite the acculturative stress, migrant students had better academic performance and higher levels on a psychological well-being index than their local-born counterparts, which may be attributed to increased resilience from migration (Fan et al, 2009;García-Coll and Marks, 2012;Serap et al, 2018). For example, previous research found that strict parental discipline had a greater negative impact on problem behaviors in local-born children but not in immigrant children (Hackett et al, 1991).…”

Educational attainment trajectories among children and adolescents with depression, and the role of sociodemographic characteristics: longitudinal data-linkage study

“…While we cannot draw any causal inferences from this, previous longitudinal work has found that the course of attainment appears to mirror the course of concurrent depressive symptoms. 30 , 31 In this context, our findings indicate that the onset of depression and difficulties resulting in lower attainment may coincide.…”

“…While we cannot draw any causal inferences from this, previous longitudinal work has found that the course of attainment appears to mirror the course of concurrent depressive symptoms. 30,31 In this context, our findings indicate that the onset of depression and difficulties resulting in lower attainment may coincide. In each graph, the trajectories are shown at the level of the reference category for the other sociodemographic covariates, and at the median age at diagnosis of depression (age 15 years).…”