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Addressing Adolescents’ Depressive Symptoms and Risky Behavior: The Role of Perceived Parents’ and Teachers’ Social Support
Abstract
Socializer-driven processes were analyzed by investigating effects of perceived mothers’, fathers’, and teachers’ social support on adolescents’ depressive symptoms and risky behavior across each academic year in high school. Furthermore, we analyzed the co-development of parents’ and teachers’ social support and adolescents’ depressive symptoms and risky behavior using data from 402 adolescents from the Childhood and Beyond Study. Perceived mothers’ social support protected adolescents from depressive symptoms from 9th to 11th grade. Gender-specific associations were identified. Teachers’ social support predicted declines in depressive symptoms only for females. Perceived fathers’ social support predicted an increase in depressive symptoms for their sons only.
... However, to date, little research has been conducted on the extent to which instructional quality alleviates the adverse effects of academic stressors, enhances academic satisfaction, and, consequently, stabilizes or improves the mental health of university students, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, even though interindividual differences in terms of stressors and protective factors have been indicated (Acharya et al., 2018;Rubach et al., 2020), gender differences in these regards have been examined less frequently. Accordingly, the current study sought to better understand the associations between instructional quality, academic stress, academic satisfaction, and mental health impairment among male and female undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic. ...
... Findings have shown that students with poorer mental health perceive their environment more negatively than those with better mental health. For example, students with poorer mental health perceive less support from their teachers (Tinklin et al., 2005;Rubach et al., 2020). In addition, poorer mental health also leads to less satisfaction and more stress if associated mental health impairments have not been adequately treated (Lipson and Eisenberg, 2018;von Keyserlingk et al., 2021). ...
... Based on prior findings, we predicted that instructional quality matters more to female students' than male students' mental health and academic satisfaction. For example, in one study, social support by teachers decreased depressive symptoms among female students alone (Rubach et al., 2020); and, in another study, female students who felt they were not taken seriously by their instructors reported lower academic satisfaction (Sax et al., 2005). In contrast to male students, female students also deemed instructional quality to be more relevant to them (Heine and Maddox, 2009;Jung, 2012). ...
Gender differences in university students’ well-being and mental health are prominent concerns in higher education. During the COVID-19 pandemic, male and female students have reported specific stressors that have impacted their well-being and mental health, including difficulty concentrating, concerns about academic performance, and classroom workload. All of these stressors could be mitigated by instructional quality in courses. This study sought to better understand the associations between instructional quality and mental health impairment, i.e., poor mental health and high psychological distress, among male and female undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic. We asked whether perceived instructional quality has a protective effect on students’ mental health with regard to academic stress and academic satisfaction across genders. We used longitudinal data from an ethnically diverse sample of 209 students (68% females, 82% freshmen, 50% Asian, 32% Hispanic, 13% White, 5% other) from a public university in Southern California, United States. Data were assessed during the winter and spring quarters of the academic year 2019–2020, i.e., before and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. Associations between instructional quality and students’ mental health impairment did not differ across genders. The findings indicated that perceived instructional quality at the beginning of the spring quarter 2020 was indirectly related to male and female students’ mental health impairment at the end of this quarter. This association was mediated by academic satisfaction. This finding points to a protective effect of instructional quality on students’ mental health. However, no effect was found concerning changes to mental health. Gender differences occurred in the link between academic stress and mental health impairment. Academic stress was a stronger predictor of mental health impairment for female students compared to male students. Furthermore, for female students alone, academic stress predicted changes in mental health impairment. We discuss practical implications for higher education. First, our study highlighted that instructional quality in higher education courses might lead to academic satisfaction and thereby help protect university students’ mental health. Second, higher education might consider providing additional support for (female) students to improve their stress management. We argue that improving and enhancing the academic environment are more important than reducing the burden of stressors.
... In contrast, students can thrive when their developmental needs are aligned with social contexts. Research has shown that adolescents' perceived frequency and quality of support from key socializers (e.g., parents, siblings, friends, teachers) positively predicts a range of behavioral (e.g., study time, attendance, help-seeking behavior at school), performance (e.g., GPA), and psychological (e.g., school satisfaction, positive affect) outcomes (Hill & Tyson, 2009;Rosenfeld et al., 2000;Rubach et al., 2020;Stanton-Salazar et al., 2001). However, adolescent academic disengagement may be exacerbated by a perceived lack of support (Wang & Amemiya, 2019). ...
Background
Adolescents who begin high school with a poor record of academic performance are often at risk for developing maladaptive academic behaviors, which can impede academic success in the long run.
Objective
Guided by the substantial literature on the academic and motivational benefits of adolescents’ conversations, this study examined the differential effects of having conversations with different socializers. This study aims to identify consolidated and generalizable effects of various sources of support in adolescent lives and contribute to educational practice for adolescent academic adaptation by examining multiple types of socializers using a large nationally representative sample.
Methods
Adolescents’ conversations about course-taking and personal issues with mothers, fathers, teachers, friends, and school counselors were examined for their potential buffering roles in the relationship between GPA and maladaptive academic behaviors. Data from 22,940 students (49.22% female, 9th through 11th-grade) in 690 U.S. schools from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) were analyzed using multiple regression analyses that incorporated longitudinal sampling weights and adjusted for clustering within schools.
Results
Conversations with friends about personal issues during the 9th-grade year predicted greater subsequent maladaptive academic behavior. Students with lower 9th-grade GPAs were more likely to utilize maladaptive academic behaviors during the 11th-grade. This association, however, was less strong when students had conversations about either course-taking or personal issues with their teachers.
Conclusion
Adolescent-teacher conversations about academic and personal issues can buffer against the development of maladaptive academic behaviors during high school, particularly for students who are experiencing academic challenges.
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