School contextual experiences and longitudinal changes in depressive symptoms from adolescence to young adulthood

✍ Scribed by Thulitha Wickrama; Alexander T. Vazsonyi

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 105 KB
• Volume: 39
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0090-4392
• DOI: 10.1002/jcop.20453

✦ Synopsis

The current study examined the direct and multiplicative influences by adolescent school context experiences (disengagement and maltreatment) and contextual characteristics (school minority concentration and school aggregated family poverty) on changes in depressive symptoms from adolescence to young adulthood. Adolescent experiences with maltreatment and school disengagement were positively associated with changes in depressive symptoms over time. In addition, the school disengagement effect was larger among Hispanic youth than African American or European American adolescents. The influence by maltreatment was significantly greater in minority-concentrated school contexts. Final models that included cross-level interaction terms explained approximately 10.54% of level 1 variance and 17.10% of level 2 variance (ICC 5 2%). Adolescent school experiences and being of Hispanic ethnic background exert continued developmental influences on changes in young adult depressive symptoms. Thus, school-based health promotion programs need to consider school contextual effects on the subsequent development and wellbeing of youth.