School-related worries in the day-to-day lives of early adolescent females: Links to positive affect and depressive symptoms

Abstract

There is currently a mental health epidemic among adolescents, with record high rates of depression, particularly among females. Although many potential causes of this epidemic have been suggested, very little attention has been paid to the school context, despite the fact that academic pressures have increased in recent decades. Intense pressure to excel is thought to play a role in the development of depression, but little is known about how worries about school might play a role in the mental health crisis. We used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to assess day-to-day worries, including school-related worries, in early adolescent females and the links between school-related worries and daily affect, as well as depressive symptoms over 1 year. Participants were 117 youth assigned female at birth, ages 11–13 (M_age = 12.25[0.80]), with 2/3 at heightened risk for depression due to shy/fearful temperament. Across 16 days, youth reported a daily worry in the morning and rated their positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) 3–4 times per day. School-related worries were the most frequently reported concerns, comprising 28% of total worries, more than triple the rate of any other categories. On days when school worries were reported, participants exhibited lower levels of same-day PA, compared with when other types of worries were reported. There were no associations between school worries and daily NA. The intensity of school worries predicted higher depressive symptoms at 1-year follow-up, particularly for low-risk participants. Findings suggest that school worries are pervasive among early adolescent females and may serve to dampen positive emotions, perhaps by diverting attention and time from potential positive experiences. School worries also contributed to increases in depressive symptoms over the course of 1 year, suggesting that school concerns warrant greater attention as a potential factor in the youth mental health crisis. Worries about school represent a potentially modifiable risk factor for depression, which could be addressed at the individual, family, school, and/or policy level.