Heterogeneity among adolescents with elevated depressive symptoms: distinct patterns of social and academic attributes

UnrestrictedThis study utilized a cross-sectional, multi-informant approach to examine a typology of adolescents who are experiencing elevated depressive symptoms. Participants were 336 predominantly Asian-American adolescents (167 males, 169 females; mean age = 14.99 years) from a high school in Hawaii. Adolescents completed a peer nomination inventory assessing popularity, social preference, friendship, aggression, and peer victimization. Self-report measures assessed dependency, social anxiety, academic engagement, and depressive symptoms, and data on academic achievement were obtained from school records. Among adolescents who were high in depressive symptoms, one subgroup was popular and had a mixed pattern of behavioral and academic adjustment, one subgroup was high in academics but low in social impact, and one subgroup was both aggressive and rejected in the peer group. The overall pattern of findings with an ethnically underrepresented population highlights the need to consider heterogeneity among youth who report high levels of depressive symptoms in adolescence