Depressive Symptoms in Early Adolescence: Their Relations with Classroom Problem Behavior and Peer Status

It has been suggested that early antisocial behavior plays a causal role in the development of depression during childhood and adolescence through pervasive failures in social competence and social acceptance (Patterson & Capaldi, 1990). The present study was conducted to test this hypothesis by examining longitudinal data from a sample of 215 Italian middle school students. Analyses revealed that time-one problem behavior predicted both time-two peer status and time-two depressive symptoms, even after controlling for time-one peer status and depressive symptoms, respectively. Moreover, time-one peer status predicted depressive symptoms at time-two, even after controlling for prior levels of depressive symptoms. However, analyses did not support the hypothesis that peer rejection mediates the effects of problem behavior on depression.