Journal Article

The Prospective Associations between Self-Efficacy and Depressive Symptoms from Early to Middle Adolescence: A Cross-Lagged Model

Tak, Yuli R., Lichtwarck-Aschoff, Anna, Brunwasser, Steven M., Engels, Rutger C. M. E.

2017

Overview

Over the course of adolescence, an increasing number of adolescents experience depression. In order to effectively target depression, identifying risk factors for depressive symptoms is pivotal. Since low levels of self-efficacy were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms in previous studies, the current study investigated the bidirectional and prospective associations between depressive symptoms and academic, social and emotional self-efficacy from early to mid adolescence in a cross-lagged path model. The sample consisted of 1,341 adolescents (47 % girls) with a mean age of 14 years, SD = 0.56. Depressive symptoms and self-efficacy levels were assessed every 6 months over a period of 2.5 years. Depressive symptoms predicted subsequent levels of academic and emotional self-efficacy on all time points, and social self-efficacy on one time point. Self-efficacy did not predict subsequent levels of depressive symptoms. There was no evidence of sex differences in the cross-lagged associations between depressive symptoms and self-efficacy levels. Implications of the findings are discussed.

• Publisher: Springer US,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Academic Achievement / Adolescence / Adolescent / Adolescent Behavior - psychology / Adolescents / Behavioral Science and Psychology / Behavioral Sciences / Beliefs / Child and School Psychology / Child development / Child psychology / Clinical Psychology / Depression - psychology / Depressive Disorder - psychology / Developmental Psychology / Developmental Tasks / Emotional regulation / Emotions / Empirical Research / Empowerment / Epistemology / Female / Females / Health Psychology / Health Status / History of Psychology / Humans / Individual Characteristics / Law and Psychology / Longitudinal Studies / Male / Mental depression / Occupational Aspiration / Parents / Peers / Prospective Studies / Psychology / Psychopathology / Resistance (Psychology) / Risk Factors / Self Concept / Self Efficacy / Sex differences / Social Problems / Social research / Stress / Symptoms / Teenagers