Longitudinal Dynamic Analyses of Depression and Academic Achievement in the Hawaiian High Schools Health Survey using Contemporary Latent Variable Change Models

The moderating role of adrenocortical reactivity in the associations between interparental conflict, emotional reactivity, and school adjustment

This study tested whether the associations between interparental conflict, children's emotional reactivity, and school adjustment were moderated by children's cortisol reactivity in a sample of young children (N = 243; mean age = 4.6 years at Wave 1; 56% female, 44% male) and their parents. Using a longitudinal, autoregressive design, observational assessments of children's emotional reactivity at Wave 2 mediated the relationship between an observational measure of Wave 1 conflict between parents and teacher's report of children's school adjustment at Wave 3. However, children's cortisol reactivity to parent conflict at Wave 1 moderated the first link, such that emotional reactivity operated as a mediator for children with heightened cortisol reactivity but not children with low cortisol reactivity. Moderation was expressed in a "for better" or "for worse" form hypothesized by biological sensitivity to context theory. Thus, children with high cortisol reactivity experienced greater emotional reactivity than their peers when faced with more destructive conflict but also lower emotional reactivity when exposed to more constructive interparental conflict. Results are discussed as to how they advance emotional security and biological sensitivity to context theories.

Identifying barriers and facilitators to implementing mindfulness-based programmes into schools: A mixed methods study

Mindfulness-based initiatives have been shown to improve psychological wellbeing and increase academic engagement in school settings. The current study explored barriers and facilitators to the implementation of mindfulness-based (MB) programmes in schools. Ninety-five teachers completed an online survey, and six principals were interviewed, with questions for both informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Quantitative data was analysed via descriptive statistics and independent sample t tests. Qualitative interview data were analysed via thematic analysis. Teachers reported facilitators to successful MB programme implementation as self-efficacy and motivation, knowledge about MB programmes, acceptance of responsibility to deliver MB programmes and belief of negative consequences if MB programmes are not delivered. Principals reported organisational-level facilitators as having a school-wide positive education framework relevant to the school context, taking a long-term approach, school leaders supporting the initiatives and understanding the evidence behind MB programmes and empowering staff to engage in mindfulness. Individual-level facilitators included staff buy-in and commitment to practice and understanding mindfulness. Barriers included time, resources/money, staff buy-in and competing strategic priorities within the school. These findings are important for consideration by policymakers determining the way forward for more widespread implementation of MB programmes in Australia.

Psychotropic medication use and academic performance in adolescence: A cross-lagged path analysis

INTRODUCTION

The study investigated the directionality of associations between mental health problems and school grades across two timepoints (T1 and T2) during mid to late adolescence; in school year 9 (ages 15-16) and school year 12 (ages 17-18). The study also investigated variation in the associations as a function of gender and across socioeconomic groups.

METHODS

Longitudinal data from several Swedish administrative registers were utilised. Information on prescribed psychotropic drugs was used as a proxy for mental health problems, and teacher-assigned school grades were used to measure academic performance. The study sample comprised 85 186 individuals (50.7% girls) born in 1991 who were alive and resident in Sweden in 2010. Directions of associations were analysed by estimating a series of cross-lagged path models.

RESULTS

The model with the best fit to data showed that higher school grades at T1 were associated with relatively lower rates of mental health problems by T2, for both boys and girls, mainly in socioeconomic groups with the highest educated parents. This association was equal in size across all of the socioeconomic groups that were explored.

CONCLUSIONS

Performing well in school is equally important for boys' and girls' subsequent mental health, but only among adolescents in socioeconomic groups with the highest educated parents. The results underscore the importance of promoting opportunities for youth to do as well as they can in school.

Relation between cognitive and behavioral strategies and future change in common mental health problems across 18 years

Major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and panic disorder (PD), constitute common mental disorders that may have chronic and disabling courses. Cognitive and behavioral theories posit that lack of engagement in certain strategies (goal persistence, self-mastery, positive reappraisal) increases vulnerability toward these disorders. Further, scar effect theories assert that experiencing more of these disorders may diminish engagement in such strategies within individuals across time. However, dynamic longitudinal associations between cognitive-behavioral strategies (CBS) and disorder counts across adulthood are not well understood. Using bivariate latent difference score models, this study aimed to test the dynamic trajectories between disorder counts and each CBS across 18 years. Participants were 3,294 community-dwelling adults ages 45.62 years (SD = 11.41, range = 20-74; 54.61% female) who took part in 3 waves of measurement spaced 9 years apart. Self-mastery, disorder counts, and their change were not significantly related. However, higher within-subject increase in goal persistence (but not self-mastery or positive reappraisal) led to greater future decline in disorder counts, but not vice versa. Last, within individuals, greater prior levels of goal persistence and positive reappraisal predicted larger subsequent reduction in disorder counts, and vice versa. The reciprocal, bidirectional associations between specific CBS (goal persistence, positive reappraisal) and disorder counts support both vulnerability and scar models of depression and anxiety. Treatments for MDD, GAD, and PD should attempt to enhance perseverance and optimism. Theoretical and clinical implications are further discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Modeling Latent Change Score Analysis and Extensions in Mplus: A Practical Guide for Researchers

Many developmental and life course researchers are interested in modeling dynamic developmental processes. Latent change score (LCS) modeling is a potentially powerful modeling technique that can be used to assess complex life course processes, as well as the direction of longitudinal bivariate associations. Advances in modeling software, like Mplus, as well as widening adoption of software by researchers has made LCS modeling simpler. Thus, in the present paper, we provide 1) a theoretical overview of LCS analysis, 2) information on the interpretation of these models, 3) a practical guid7e for estimating these models in Mplus (including example syntax), 4) illustrative examples of LCS analysis, and 5) potential caveats for researchers.

Medical Students' Use of Different Coping Strategies and Relationship With Academic Performance in Preclinical and Clinical Years

Phenomenon: Medical students' coping abilities are important for academic success and emotional health. The authors explored differences in students' use of active, problem-solving strategies and emotional, inwardly directed approaches; the change in coping strategies used during medical school; and coping strategy impact on performance.

APPROACH

One hundred eighty-three students completed the Ways of Coping Scale at matriculation and end of the 2nd and 3rd years. Frequency of each of 8 ways of coping, changes in coping strategy use over time, and relationship of coping method with preclinical and clinical scores were calculated.

FINDINGS

Students varied widely in use of coping mechanisms. Over time, students shifted to using emotional strategies more frequently while decreasing their use of active strategies. Coping strategies were unrelated to preclinical academic performance (R² = .09, adjusted R² = .04, ns) but were related to clinical performance (R² = .23, adjusted R² = .18, p < .0001), with active coping associated with higher performance and emotional methods associated with lower performance. Insights: Students decreased use of active coping strategies and increased use of emotional coping strategies over time, but emotional strategies were associated with poorer clinical academic performance. These shifts in coping methods may be detrimental to student performance and learning. Improving students' ability to cope should be an educational priority.

Annual Review of Asian American Psychology, 2014

This 2014 review of Asian American psychology is the sixth review in the series. It includes 316 articles that met the inclusion criteria established by the past five annual reviews. Featured articles were derived from three sources: 137 were generated via the search term "Asian American" in PyscINFO, 111 were generated via a search for specific Asian American ethnic groups, and 32 were generated via author searches of articles that met the inclusion criteria. The top primary topic was health and health-related behaviors, the most frequently employed study design was cross-sectional, and the most studied Asian American ethnic group was Chinese. This year's review includes information on the target population of the primary topic, the age range and developmental period of participants, and whether the study design was cross-sectional or longitudinal. It also identifies top authors and journals contributing to the 2014 annual review. These new features reveal that the most common target population of the primary topic was youths; studies most commonly included emerging adults ages 18-25; cross-sectional study design was employed more often than longitudinal design; the top contributor to the 2014 review was Stephen Chen, who authored the highest number of papers included; and the Asian American Journal of Psychology generated the highest number of publications for this review.

On the Mathematical Relationship Between Latent Change Score and Autoregressive Cross-Lagged Factor Approaches: Cautions for Inferring Causal Relationship Between Variables

The present paper focuses on the relationship between latent change score (LCS) and autoregressive cross-lagged (ARCL) factor models in longitudinal designs. These models originated from different theoretical traditions for different analytic purposes, yet they share similar mathematical forms. In this paper, we elucidate the mathematical relationship between these models and show that the LCS model is reduced to the ARCL model when fixed effects are assumed in the slope factor scores. Additionally, we provide an applied example using height and weight data from a gerontological study. Throughout the example, we emphasize caution in choosing which model (ARCL or LCS) to apply due to the risk of obtaining misleading results concerning the presence and direction of causal precedence between two variables. We suggest approaching model specification not only by comparing estimates and fit indices between the LCS and ARCL models (as well as other models) but also by giving appropriate weight to substantive and theoretical considerations, such as assessing the justifiability of the assumption of random effects in the slope factor scores.

Potential causal relationship between depressive symptoms and academic achievement in the Hawaiian high schools health survey using contemporary longitudinal latent variable change models

There is a relatively consistent negative relationship between adolescent depressive symptoms and educational achievement (e.g., grade point average [GPA]). However, the causal direction for this association is less certain due to the lack of longitudinal data with both indicators measured across at least 2 time periods and due to the lack of application of more sophisticated contemporary statistical techniques. We present multivariate results from a large longitudinal cohort-sequential study of high school students (N = 7,317) with measures of self-reported depressive symptoms and self-reported GPAs across multiple time points (following McArdle, 2009, and McArdle, Johnson, Hishinuma, Miyamoto, & Andrade, 2001) using an ethnically diverse sample from Hawai'i. Contemporary statistical techniques included bivariate dynamic structural equation modeling (DSEM), multigroup ethnic and gender DSEMs, ordinal scale measurement of key outcomes, and imputation for incomplete longitudinal data. The findings suggest that depressive symptoms affect subsequent academic achievement and not the other way around, especially for Native Hawaiians compared with female non-Hawaiians. We further discuss the scientific, applied, and methodological-statistical implications of the results, including the need for further theorizing and research on mediating variables. We also discuss the need for increased prevention, early intervention, screening, identification, and treatment of depressive symptoms and disorders. Finally, we argue for utilization of more contemporary methodological-statistical techniques, especially when violating parametric test assumptions.