title: Moderating effects of teacher-student relationship in adolescent trajectories of emotional and behavioral adjustment.
abstract: This study examined relations between effortful control, parent-adolescent conflict, and teacher-student relationships and the concurrent and longitudinal impact of these factors on adolescent depression and misconduct. In particular, we examined whether the risks of low effortful control and parent-adolescent conflict could be buffered by positive teacher-student relationships characterized by warmth and trust. Data were collected on 1,400 urban youths (52% female, 51% Black, 44% White) who reported on their effortful control at age 13 years and on their depressive symptoms and misconduct from ages 13-18. Teacher-student relationship data were collected from teacher-report at age 13 and parent-adolescent conflict data from parent-report at age 13. As hypothesized, regardless of gender, both early poor effortful control and conflictive parent-adolescent relationship were general risks for adolescents' depression and misconduct. Positive teacher-student relationships protected adolescents against depression and misconduct throughout ages 13-18. In addition, positive teacher-student relationships moderated the negative influences of adolescents' early poor effortful control and conflictive parent-adolescent relationships on misconduct and helped such at-risk adolescents to attain less behaviorally delinquent developmental trajectories over time.
authors.affiliation: School of Education, Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA. mtwang@pitt.edu
authors.forename: Ming-Te
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brinkworth
authors.forename: Jacquelynne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Eccles
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders; D003863:Depression; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D012737:Sex Factors; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D013694:Temperament; D014505:Urban Population