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Academic Achievement And Depression Among Junior High School Students: The Moderating Effects Of Parenting Styles And Peer Relationships

Posted on:2008-05-19Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:H J WangFull Text:PDF
GTID:2167360215456787Subject:Development and educational psychology
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Recent years, the depression of adolescents was focused home and abroad. Research on adolescents' depression in our country was not sufficient. Therefore, it's of great importance to further the study on depression of junior high school students for the sake of prevention and intervention. Academic achievement has always been an important part in students' life. Studies indicated that academic failure could cause depression. Other studies, however, suggested the reverse causal direction: depression may cause academic failure. In a word, the relationship between them is not so clear. To gain a more complete understanding of the relationship between academic achievement and depression, potential moderating variables should be explored. Academic achievement has great impact on depression, so do the peer relationships and parenting styles. This research examined the basic information of depression between high-achievers, average-achievers and under-achievers, and especially explored the moderating effects of peer relationships and parenting styles on the relationship of academic achievement and depression.Sociometric nomination and questionnaire method were employed, 451 students from Grade 1 through Grade 3 completed the questionnaire in two common junior high school students in Wuhan. Multiple regression analyses were used in data analyzing.The results showed:1. Academic achievement, parenting styles and peer relationships were significantly correlated with depression.2.The depression scores of junior high school students varied by the types of academic achievement, and there was no gender difference. The scores on depression of high-achievers were significantly lower than those of average-achievers and of under-achievers, and the depression scores of average-achievers were significantly lower than those of under-achievers.3. The overall prevalence of depression among junior high school students was 28.2%, and the prevalence varied by the types of academic achievement. The prevalence of high-achievers (19.8%) was significantly lower than that of the average-achievers (28.4%) and of the under-achievers (36.1%), and there was no significant difference between average-achievers and under-achievers.4. Parenting styles moderated the relationship between academic achievement and depression; and the moderating effects varied by gender.(1) For junior high school students, mother's warmth and mother's stern punishment had moderating effects. (2) For girls, father's excessive interference had a moderating effect. As it increased, the negative correlation between achievement and depression strengthened.(3) For boys, parenting styles had no moderating effect on the relationship between academic achievement and depression.5. For junior high school students, satisfaction of peer relationships was the most powerful influence on depression, and the less powerful ones were the academic achievement and father's warmth.6. Different factors had varied predictions of depression in gender.(1) For girls, satisfaction of peer relationships was the most powerful influence on depression; the less powerful ones were mother's rejection, the interaction of academic achievement and father's excessive interference.(2) For boys, academic achievement was the most powerful influence on depression; the less powerful was satisfaction of peer relationships.
Keywords/Search Tags:moderating effects, depression, academic achievement, parenting styles, peer relationships
PDF Full Text Request
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