Child Maltreatment, Delinquent Behavior, and School Factors as Predictors of Depressive Symptoms from Adolescence to Adulthood: A Growth Mixture Model

Abstract

Previous methodological approaches have not been flexible enough to model the heterogeneity of depressive symptoms or to identify variations between prototypical trajectories conditional on risk and protective factors. The current study examined latent class trajectories of depressive symptoms using data from 3,819 respondents of the Adolescent Health Survey. Four trajectory profiles of depressive symptoms were identified: low-stable, high-decreasing, low-increasing, and moderate-decreasing. A broad array of risk factors were included into the modeling procedure to identify predictors of group membership. Relative to the low-stable group, membership in one of the three symptomatic groups (i.e., heightened depressive symptoms) was predicted by poverty, low self-esteem, gender, drinking frequency, poor academic outcomes, delinquency, and child maltreatment type. This study contributes to our understanding about the longitudinal manifestations of depression and identifies a broad array of factors significantly related to pathways of resilience.

The interconnected development of depressive symptoms and school functioning from mid-adolescence to early adulthood: A piecewise growth mixture analysis.

“…These studies further indicate that girls (relative to boys) are more likely to follow trajectories characterized by higher levels of depressive symptoms (Barboza, 2020;Lee et al, 2017;Yaroslavsky et al, 2013). However, additional studies also suggest that boys might be more likely than girls to report initially low levels of depressive symptoms followed by a marked increase in these levels during the transition from adolescence into early adulthood (Martinez & Armenta, 2020).…”

“…There is a consensus that youth follow heterogeneous trajectories of depressive symptoms from adolescence to early adulthood. In research assessing the evolution of depressive symptoms across the adolescent years into early adulthood, three to four distinct profiles of youth characterized by distinct trajectories of depressive symptoms (hereafter referred to as trajectory-profiles) have typically been identified (Barboza, 2020; Bulhões et al, 2021; Kent & Bradshaw, 2021; Lee et al, 2017; Martinez & Armenta, 2020; Salmela-Aro, Aunola, et al, 2008; Vaillancourt & Haltigan, 2018; Wang, Chan, et al, 2018; Wickrama & Wickrama, 2010; Yaroslavsky et al, 2013). These trajectory-profiles generally describe youth presenting (a) consistently low, (b) moderate and slightly increasing or decreasing, (c) high and decreasing, and (d) consistently high trajectory of depressive symptoms.…”

“…Furthermore, depression trajectories might not be entirely linear, especially when considered over longer time frames (Barboza, 2020), possibly as a result of changes in youth life circumstances (Ge et al, 2006), such as school transitions (Ibrahim et al, 2013; Reed-Fitzke, 2020). Depending on their country and school system, school transitions occur at different ages.…”

Child Maltreatment, School Bonds, and Adult Violence: A Serial Mediation Model

“…Each year, approximately 3.3 million youth are the subject of an investigation or assessment by state and local child protective services (CPS) agencies (Barboza, 2020;U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2013).…”

“…This high rate of substantiation is alarming given previous research showing that children who experience abuse and/or neglect have an increased risk of poor behavioral outcomes including externalizing and internalizing behavior Barboza, Dominguez, & Pinder, 2017), and juvenile delinquency, and are more likely to be involved in the criminal justice system (English, Widom, & Brandford, 2002;Klika, Herrenkohl, & Lee, 2013;Smith & Thornberry, 1995;Widom & Maxfield, 2001). Principles of multifinality (i.e., similar risks may lead to different developmental outcomes) and resilience (i.e., high-risk individuals may adapt to adversity over the long run) have incorporated school measures as important factors that explain differential outcomes among maltreated children, particularly those who are physically abused (Barboza, 2020;Ostaszewski & Zimmerman, 2006). Nevertheless, existing research has been unclear about which aspects of schools minimize these adverse effects among children who face chronic and/or cumulative risk.…”