Adolescent mental health and academic functioning: empirical support for contrasting models of risk and vulnerability.
Adolescents in military families contend with normative stressors that are universal and exist across social contexts (minority status, family disruptions, and social isolation) as well as stressors reflective of their military life context (e.g., parental deployment, school transitions, and living outside the United States). This study utilizes a social ecological perspective and a stress process lens to examine the relationship between multiple risk factors and relevant indicators of youth well-being, namely depressive symptoms and academic performance, as well as the mediating role of self-efficacy (N = 1,036). Three risk models were tested: an additive effects model (each risk factor uniquely influences outcomes), a full cumulative effects model (the collection of risk factors influences outcomes), a comparative model (a cumulative effects model exploring the differential effects of normative and military-related risks). This design allowed for the simultaneous examination of multiple risk factors and a comparison of alternative perspectives on measuring risk. Each model was predictive of depressive symptoms and academic performance through persistence; however, each model provides unique findings about the relationship between risk factors and youth outcomes. Discussion is provided pertinent to service providers and researchers on how risk is conceptualized and suggestions for identifying at-risk youth.
Department of Family and Child Sciences, Florida State University, 120 Convocation Way, Sandels Building 222, Tallahassee, FL 32306.
Mallory
M
Lucier-Greer
Department of Human Development and Family Science, The University of Georgia, 305 Sanford Drive, Dawson Hall, Athens, GA 30602.
Catherine W
CW
O'Neal
Department of Human Development and Family Science, The University of Georgia, 305 Sanford Drive, Dawson Hall, Athens, GA 30602.
A Laura
AL
Arnold
Department of Human Development and Family Science, The University of Georgia, 305 Sanford Drive, Dawson Hall, Athens, GA 30602.
Jay A
JA
Mancini
Department of Human Development and Family Science, The University of Georgia, 305 Sanford Drive, Dawson Hall, Athens, GA 30602.
Kandauda K A S
KK
Wickrama
D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000067697:Adolescent Health; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D066067:Military Family; D008913:Minority Groups; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012574:Schools; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012931:Social Environment; D012934:Social Isolation; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D035862:Vulnerable Populations