School experience as a mediator of the connection between depression and school dropout risk among adolescents going through high school transition
Research indicates that depression symptoms are associated with school problems and some authors also suggest that depression is linked to school dropout risk among adolescents. The present longitudinal study explored, on one hand, the reciprocal relation between depression and school experience (attitude toward school and teacher, perception of classroom environment, school performance and perception of school performance), and on the other hand, the mediating role of school experience on the risk of school dropout among adolescents experiencing depressive symptoms, going through the transition from elementary to high school. The sample consisted of 499 10 to 14-year-old French Canadian students (262 boys, 237 girls). Results showed that for girls and for boys, depressive symptoms in Grade 6 are linked to a school dropout risk in Grade 7. Following the transition, depressed students presented a risk of school dropout two times greater than their non-depressed peers. Results also suggested a reciprocal relation between negative attitude towards school and depressive symptoms among boys only. In addition, the results showed that the association between depressive symptoms and school dropout risk was mediated by negative attitude toward school and teacher and poor school performance.