DEPRESSION AND VICTIMIZATION AMONG

GIRLS:

WHERE DOES ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT FIT IN?

Katie SylvesterNew York University

Thank you Dr. Elise Cappella for your dedication to my

project and access to this data set. Research Grants: Spencer Foundation,

Woodrow Wilson Foundation, Johnson & Johnson Corp.

All research assistants who collected the data.

Research participants: Schools, teachers, and students.

As girls transition to adolescence, they experience an increase in depressive symptoms.

During adolescence twice as many girls as boys suffer from depressive disorders.

Peer relationships become increasingly important and complex.

Early interventions targeting girls might reduce symptoms and diagnoses of depression in adolescence.

Depression and Girls

Broad range of aggressive behaviors and peer conflicts (e.g., malicious rumor spreading, threats).

Girls become increasingly engaged in subtle and indirect peer conflicts that involve intentional harm through the manipulation of social relationships.

Creates instability and conflict within one’s immediate peer context.

Aggression Victimization

Depression & Victimization Depressive symptoms are closely linked to

experiences of aggression victimization. Depressed children exhibit behaviors that signal

to others that they will not be successful at defending themselves if attacked .

Girls who are victimized are likely to internalize their problems and experience emotional distress.

As a result, there seems to be a bidirectional relation between victimization and depression.

DepressiveSymptoms

Aggression Victimization

Achievement differences favoring girls emerge by the end of elementary school.

Academic achievement is intertwined with internalizing problems and social relationships. Children who experience psychosocial difficulties

often experience concurrent academic difficulties. Poor social experiences are linked to poor academic

achievement. Strained relationships with teachers and peers lowers

motivation and generates poor achievement. The presence of cognitive or academic skills might

protect children from poor mental or social experiences.

Academic Achievement

Risk & Resilience Positive academic experiences might

protect children from negative consequences of depression and victimization.

Ecological Perspective Within micro-level context

Developmental Cascades Model Developmentally salient Spillover effects

Academic Achievement

Social Relationships

Depressive Symptoms

Research Questions

Depressive Symptoms

Aggression Victimizatio

n

What is the relation between depressive symptoms and aggression victimization?

What is the relation between academic achievement and aggression victimization?

Does academic achievement moderate the relation between depressive symptoms and aggression victimization?

Aggression Victimizatio

n

Academic Achievement

Academic Achievemen

t

Girls between the ages of 9-12 13 fifth grade classrooms 6 low-middle income schools

Cau-casian (N=35)

African-Amer-ican (N=34)

Latina (N=32)

Participants (N = 101)

Intervention Groups

Academic Group (RC) Social Group (SAPP) Increase students'

reading abilities Oral reading of a

chapter book and literacy activities

Students kept journals, read aloud from book, and participated in writing assignments and discussions

Reduce peer conflict and increase prosocial behaviors

Students participated in discussion, role playing, modeling, and games

Measure Description Sample Itemα

(T1- T2)

Social Experience Questionnaire (SEQ)

4-item subscale of overall victimization

Peer report

How often does _________ get hit, pushed, or beat up by other kids?

.65 - .78

Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI)

10-item subscale of depressive symptoms

Self report

I am sad.

Likert scale of 1-3 (1 as once in a while, 3 as all the time)

.84 - .74

Academic Achievement

3-item scale of academic achievement

Teacher report

Math, reading, and science

Likert scale of 1-5 (1 as far below average to 5 far above average)

.95 - .87

Measures

Preliminary Correlations

Variable 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

1. T1 Depression --2. T2 Depression .60** --3. T1 Achievement -.19 -.10 --4. T2 Achievement -.06 -.07 .24* --

5. T1 Victimization .27** .22* -.29** -.10 --

6. T2 Victimization .34** -.34*

* -.35* -.20* .85** --

T1 depression T2 victimization (β = .02, p

< .05)

Results: RQ1

Further analyses were run splitting the groups:

Depression and victimization were positively correlated within and across time points.

Follow-up regressions showed that, controlling for intervention group assignment:

T1 victimization did not predict T2 depression.

For both groups: T1 depression T2 victimization (RC, β = .04, p < .01; SAPP, β = .07, p < .01)

SAPP group only: T1 victimization T2 depression (β =1.67, p < .01)

T1 achievement T2 victimization (β = .22, p < .01)

Results: RQ2

Results of a Hierarchical Multiple Regression, controlling for T2 depression,T2 achievement, and group assignment showed:

Achievement was negatively correlated with victimization.

Follow-up regressions showed that, controlling for intervention group assignment:

T1 victimization did not predict T2 achievement.

T1 achievement T2 victimization (β = -.17, p < .001)

For RC only: T1 achievement T2 victimization(β = - .17, p < .01) T1 depression T2 victimization (β = .04, p < .05)

Results: RQ 3 There was no moderation effect of

achievement on the relation between depression and victimization.

Depression positively predicted victimization across groups.

Victimization positively predicted depression for girls in the SAPP group only. Results partially support past findings of a bidirectional

relation between victimization and depression. Involvement in short-term social intervention might

make girls’ peer difficulties salient. Achievement negatively predicted victimization across

groups. Once achievement was introduced, depression was no

longer predictive of victimization for girls in the social intervention group.

For girls in the academic intervention group, achievement and depression both uniquely predicted victimization.

Summary and Discussion

Limitations & Future Directions Teacher reports of achievement

Academic performance reflects a combination of achievement, school behavior, and teacher-student relationships.

May be most predictive of success in school (e.g., proxy for grades).

Future research: use of other achievement indices (e.g., standardized test scores).

CDI: Limited variability Two time points: Difficult to capture a dynamic and

bidirectional relationship Future research: Longitudinal, multi-time point

study.

Thank you!