Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Longitudinal associations among academic achievement and depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation in elementary schoolchildren: disentangling between- and within-person associations

  • Original Contribution
  • Published:
European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Prior cross-sectional and unidirectional longitudinal research has investigated the associations among academic achievement, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation without distinguishing between-person effects from within-person effects. Our study aimed to examine the longitudinal relations among academic achievement, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation in a sample of elementary school children at the within-person level using cross-lagged panel models (CLPMs) and random intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPMs). Also, multiple models replicated these findings by using three measures of academic achievement (i.e., objective academic achievement, subjective academic achievement, and teacher-assigned academic achievement). A sample of 715 Chinese elementary schoolchildren completed self-report measures of subjective academic achievement, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation on five occasions, using 6-month intervals. Objective academic achievement data were obtained from school records and teacher-assigned academic achievement data were reported by teachers. The results showed that: (a) In CLPMs, objective academic achievement negatively predicted suicidal ideation. However, RI-CLPMs supported the negative effect of suicidal ideation on objective academic achievement. (b) The CLPMs revealed reciprocal associations between subjective and teacher-assigned academic achievement and depressive symptoms, respectively. However, RI-CLPMs only provided support for the negative effect of depressive symptoms on subjective academic achievement. (c) Both the CLPMs and the RI-CLPMs showed bidirectional relations between depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. These findings highlight that mental health problems (e.g., depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation) serve as antecedents of academic performance and that it is beneficial to distinguish between between-person and within-person effects in research informing the development of prevention and intervention programs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Klonsky ED, May AM (2015) The three-step theory (3ST): a new theory of suicide rooted in the “ideation-to-action” framework. Int J Cogn Ther 8:114–129. https://doi.org/10.1521/ijct.2015.8.2.114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Zhu X, Tian L, Huebner ES (2019) Trajectories of suicidal ideation from middle childhood to early adolescence: risk and protective factors. J Youth Adolesc 48:1818–1834. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01087-y

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Ribeiro JD, Huang X, Fox KR, Franklin JC (2018) Depression and hopelessness as risk factors for suicide ideation, attempts and death: meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Br J Psychiatry 212:279–286. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2018.27

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Tan L, Xia T, Reece C (2018) Social and individual risk factors for suicide ideation among Chinese children and adolescents: a multilevel analysis. Int J Psychol 53:117–125. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12273

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Herba CM, Ferdinand RF, Verhulst FC (2007) Long-term associations of childhood suicide ideation. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatr 46:1473–1481. https://doi.org/10.1097/chi.0b013e318149e66f

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Kovess-Masfety V, Pilowsky DJ, Goelitz D, Kuijpers R, Otten R, Moro MF, Bitfoi A, Koc C, Lesinskiene S, Mihova Z, Hanson G, Fermanian C, Pez O, Carta MG (2015) Suicidal ideation and mental health disorders in young school children across Europe. J Affect Disord 177:28–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2015.02.008

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Whalen DJ, Dixon-Gordon K, Belden AC, Barch D, Luby JL (2015) Correlates and consequences of suicidal cognitions and behaviors in children ages 3 to 7 years. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 54:926–937. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2015.08.009

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Lin FG, Lin JD, Hsieh YH, Chang CY (2014) Quarrelsome family environment as an enhanced factor on child suicidal ideation. Res Dev Disabil 35:3245–3253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2014.08.007

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Min HJ, Jon DI, Jung MH, Hong N, Song MA, Kim YS, Harkavy-Friedman JM, Im HJ, Hong HJ (2012) Depression, aggression, and suicidal ideation in first graders: a school-based cross-sectional study. Compr Psychiat 53:1145–1152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2012.05.004

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. National Institutes of Mental Health (2019). Identifying research priorities in child suicide risk. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/events/announcements/identifying-research-priorities-in-child-suicide-risk.shtml

  11. World Health Organization (2018) Adolescents: health risks and solutions. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescents-health-risks-and-solution

  12. Wang YH, Shi ZT, Luo QY (2017) Association of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation among university students in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine 96:e6467. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000006476

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Xu DD, Rao WW, Cao XL, Wen SY, An FR, Che WI, Bressington DT, Cheung T, Ungvari GS, Xiang YT (2020) Prevalence of depressive symptoms in primary school students in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord 268:20–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.02.034

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Orri M, Galera C, Turecki G, Forte A, Renaud J, Boivin M, Geoffroy MC (2018) Association of childhood irritability and depressive/anxious mood profiles with adolescent suicidal ideation and attempts. JAMA Psychiat 75:465–473. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.0174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Verboom CE, Sijtsema JJ, Verhulst FC, Penninx BW, Ormel J (2014) Longitudinal associations between depressive problems, academic performance, and social functioning in adolescent boys and girls. Dev Psychol 50:247–257. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032547

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Zhou J, Tian L, Huebner ES (2021) The reciprocal relations among basic psychological need satisfaction at school, positivity and academic achievement in Chinese early adolescents. Learn Instr. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2020.101370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Huang C (2015) Academic achievement and subsequent depression: A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. J Child Fam Stud 24:434–442. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-013-9855-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Ang RP, Huan VS (2006) Relationship between academic stress and suicidal ideation: Testing for depression as a mediator using multiple regression. Child Psychiat Hum Dev 37:133–143. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-006-0023-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Li Y, Li Y, Cao J (2012) Factors associated with suicidal behaviors in mainland China: a meta-analysis. BMC Public Health 12:524. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-12-524

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. McCarty CA, Mason WA, Kosterman R, Hawkins JD, Lengua LJ, McCauley E (2008) Adolescent school failure predicts subsequent depression among girls. J Adolesc Health 43:180–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2008.01.023

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Moilanen KL, Shaw DS, Maxwell KL (2010) Developmental cascades: externalizing, internalizing, and academic competence from middle childhood to early adolescence. Dev Psychopathol 22:635–653. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579410000337

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  22. Joiner TE (2005) Why people die by suicide. Harvard University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  23. Hamaker EL, Kuiper RM, Grasman RP (2015) A critique of the cross-lagged panel model. Psychol Methods 20:102–116. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038889

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Robinson WS (1950) Ecological correlations and the behavior of individuals. Am Sociol Rev 15:351–357

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Hamaker EL, Nesselroade JR, Molenaar PC (2007) The integrated trait-state model. J Res Pers 41:295–315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2006.04.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Racine N, Plamondon A, Hentges R, Tough S, Madigan S (2019) Dynamic and bidirectional associations between maternal stress, anxiety, and social support: the critical role of partner and family support. J Affect Disord 252:19–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.03.083

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Lewinsohn PM, Rohde P, Seeley JR (1996) Adolescent suicidal ideation and attempts: prevalence, risk factors, and clinical implications. Clin Psychol-Sci Pract 3:25–46. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.14682850.1996.tb00056.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Hennefield L, Whalen D, Wood G, Chavarria M, Luby J (2019) Changing conceptions of death as a function of depression status, suicidal ideation, and media exposure in early childhood. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 58:339–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2018.07.909

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  29. Miller DN (2019) Suicidal behavior in children: Issues and implications for elementary schools. Contemp Sch Psychol 23:357–366. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-018-0203-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Westefeld JS, Bell A, Bermingham C, Button C, Shaw K, Skow C, Stinson RD, Woods T (2010) Suicide among preadolescents: a call to action. J Loss Trauma 15:381–407. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2010.507655

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Heatly MC, Votruba-Drzal E (2017) Parent- and teacher-child relationships and engagement at school entry: mediating, interactive, and transactional associations across contexts. Dev Psychol 53:1042–1062. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000310

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Soole R, Kolves K, De Leo D (2015) Suicide in children: a systematic review. Arch Suicide Res 19:285–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2014.996694

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Ren Y, Zhang X, You J, Jiang Y, Lin MP, Leung F (2018) The reciprocal associations between identity disturbance, relationship disturbance, and suicidal ideation among Chinese adolescents: a three-wave cross-lag study. J Clin Psychol 74:1174–1188. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22573

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Ruzhenkov VA, Ruzhenkova VV, Boeva AV, Moskvitina US (2015) Stigmatization and self-stigmatization by persons with mental disorders and suicidal behavior. Res J Med Sci 9:168–170. https://doi.org/10.3923/rjmsci.2015.168.170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. De Luca SM, Franklin C, Yueqi Y, Johnson S, Brownson C (2016) The relationship between suicide ideation, behavioral health, and college academic performance. Commun Ment Health J 52:534–540. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-016-9987-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Weidman AC, Augustine AA, Murayama K, Elliot AJ (2015) Internalizing symptomatology and academic achievement: bi-directional prospective relations in adolescence. J Res Pers 58:106–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2015.07.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Diaconu-Gherasim LR, Măirean C (2020) Depressive symptoms and academic achievement: the role of adolescents’ perceptions of teachers’ and peers’ behaviors. J Res Adolesc 30:471–486. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12538

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. World Health Organization (2017) Depression and other common mental disorders. https://www.who.int/mental_health/manaement/depression/prevalence_global_health_estimates/en/. Accessed 20 Oct 2018

  39. American Psychiatric Association (2013) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5). APA

  40. Nock MK, Hwang I, Sampson NA, Kessler RC (2010) Mental disorders, comorbidity and suicidal behavior: results from the national comorbidity survey replication. Mol Psychiatr 15:868–876. https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2009.29

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Feng CX, Waldner C, Cushon J, Davy K, Neudorf C (2016) Suicidal ideation in a community-based sample of elementary school children: a multilevel and spatial analysis. Can J Public Health 107:e100–e105. https://doi.org/10.17269/CJPH.107.5294

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  42. Bücker S, Nuraydin S, Simonsmeier BA, Schneider M, Luhmann M (2018) Subjective well-being and academic achievement: a meta-analysis. J Res Pers 74:83–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2018.02.007

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Hallfors DD, Waller MW, Ford CA, Halpern CT, Brodish PH, Iritani B (2004) Adolescent depression and suicide risk: association with sex and drug behavior. Am J Prev Med 27:224–231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2004.06.001

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Whisman MA, Richardson ED (2015) Normative data on the Beck Depression Inventory-second edition (BDI-II) in college students. J Clin Psychol 71:898–907. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22188

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Kim KH (2005) The relation among fit indexes, power, and sample size in structural equation modeling. Struct Equ Model 12:368–390. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15328007sem1203_2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Bollen KA (1989) A new incremental fit index for general structural equation models. Methods Res 17:303–316. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124189017003004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Zhang W, Zhang L, Chen L, Ji L, Deater-Deckard K (2019) Developmental changes in longitudinal associations between academic achievement and psychopathological symptoms from late childhood to middle adolescence. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 60:178–188. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12927

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Wang Y, Tian L, Huebner ES (2019) Basic psychological needs satisfaction at school, behavioral school engagement, and academic achievement: Longitudinal reciprocal relations among elementary school students. Contemp Educ Psychol 56:130–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2019.01.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Su L, Wang K, Zhu S, Luo XR, Yang ZW (2003) Norm of the depression self-rating scale for children in Chinese urban children. Chin Mental Health J 17:547–549

    Google Scholar 

  50. Yong N, Wang H, Hu H, Meng HQ, Chen P, Du L, Qiu T (2011) Relationship among child-abuse, depressive symptoms and sleep quality in grade 4–6 primary students. Chin Mental Health J 25:616–621

    Google Scholar 

  51. Beck AT, Steer RA (1991) Beck scale for suicide ideation: manual. Harcourt Brace, San Antonio

    Google Scholar 

  52. Padilla-Walker LM, Carlo G, Nielson MG (2015) Does helping keep teens protected? Longitudinal bidirectional relations between prosocial behavior and problem behavior. Child Dev 86:1759–1772. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12411

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Chen FF (2007) Sensitivity of goodness of fit indexes to lack of measurement invariance. Struct Equ Model 14:464–504. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705510701301834

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Marsh HW, Hau K-T, Wen Z (2004) In search of golden rules: Comment on hypothesis-testing approaches to setting cutoff values for fit indexes and dangers in overgeneralizing Hu and Bentler’s (1999) findings. Struct Equ Model 11:320–341. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15328007sem1103_2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Pistel BL (2020) Factors associated with suicidal ideation in preadolescent children Dissertation, Alliant International University

  56. Chen J, Huebner ES, Tian L (2020) Longitudinal relations between hope and academic achievement in elementary school students: behavioral engagement as a mediator. Learn Individ Differ 78:101824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2020.101824

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. Gotlib IH, Joorman J (2010) Cognition and depression: current status and future directions. Annu Rev Clin Psychol 6:285–312. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.121208.131305

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  58. Gotlib IH, Goodman SH, Humphreys KL (2020) Studying the intergenerational transmission of risk for depression: current status and future directions. Curr Dir Psychol 29:174–179. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721420901590

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31971005), and the Major Program of the National Social Science Foundation of China (No. 19ZDA360).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People’s Republic of China

    Jiahui Chen & Lili Tian

  2. Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Jiahui Chen & Lili Tian

  3. Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People’s Republic of China

    Jiahui Chen & Lili Tian

  4. Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, People’s Republic of China

    Jiahui Chen & Lili Tian

  5. Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

    Eugene Scott Huebner

Authors
  1. Jiahui Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Eugene Scott Huebner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lili Tian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lili Tian.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical standards

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee (School of Psychology Research Ethics Committee, South China Normal University) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 33 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chen, J., Huebner, E.S. & Tian, L. Longitudinal associations among academic achievement and depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation in elementary schoolchildren: disentangling between- and within-person associations. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 31, 1405–1418 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-021-01781-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-021-01781-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation