Experiencing behavior problems during school days can affect academic performance of students more than depression itself, researchers reveal.
Previous studies have linked depression to low academic achievement. Jane D. McLeod and colleagues initiated a study to examine the association and looked at data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) that included details about thousands of American youth from school age days to adulthood.
They found depressed children also experiencing other problems related to concentration or behavior.
"There's a fairly sizable literature that links depression in high school to diminished academic achievement," McLeod, lead author of the study, said in a news release. "The argument we make in our study is what's really happening is that youths who are depressed also have other problems as well, and it's those other problems that are adversely affecting their achievement."
Experiencing problems related to attention issues, delinquency, or substance use were found posing academic problems for depressed children than depression itself. They found students who experienced any two of these problems having lower grades and lesser degrees than students having only one issue.
"Behavior problems including attention issues, delinquency and substance use are associated with diminished achievement, but depression is not," McLeod, a sociology professor and an associate dean at Indiana University, explained. "Certainly, there are depressed youths who have trouble in school, but it's likely because they are also using substances, engaging in delinquent activities, or have attention issues."
Attention issues were found leading to lower GPAs and not lower levels of academic achievement.
"It could be that attention issues adversely affect high school GPA, but not level of educational attainment because success in college and graduate school may be less closely tied to behavior and interactions within the classroom than it is in high school," McLeod said.
Findings of the study will appear in the December issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.
