title: When depression mediates the relationship between entity beliefs and performance.
abstract: The aim of this study was to determine whether depression can explain the negative relationship between academic performance and the belief that intelligence is a fixed trait, i.e., entity belief. A sample of 353 French volunteer adolescents (age 11-16) completed questionnaires assessing entity theory and depressive symptoms (Children Depression Inventory: CDI). Academic performance was assessed by math performance while controlling for baseline level of math ability. Results of this study revealed that entity theory is a significant negative predictor of academic performance and a significant positive predictor of depression. Importantly, our findings also show that depression plays a significant mediating role between entity theory and academic performance. Our findings indicate that individuals who consider their abilities to be non-malleable are more likely to develop depressive symptoms which, in turn, decrease academic performance. These findings contribute to tailoring specific prevention and treatment programs for childhood and adolescent depression.
authors.affiliation: Sainte Marguerite Hospital, Marseille, France. david.dafonseca@ap-hm.fr
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Da Fonseca
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cury
authors.forename: Andreia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Payen
authors.forename: Lenda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bounoua
authors.forename: Jeannick
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brisswalter
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rufo
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Poinso
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Deruelle
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012649:Self Concept; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*