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Abstract
To examine the association between depressive symptomatology during adolescence and
educational attainment in young adulthood and to determine whether this association
varies by gender.
This study uses data from the first and third waves of the National Longitudinal Study
of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Symptoms associated with depression are assessed
at Wave 1 with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Educational
attainment is assessed at Wave 3. Measures include failure to complete high school
and failure to enter college (among high school graduates). The analytic sample contains
14,232 respondents aged 11-21 years at Wave 1 and aged 18-28 years at Wave 3. Approximately
half the sample is female.
Adjusting for individual and family-level characteristics, depressive symptomatology
during adolescence is associated with increased odds of failure to complete high school,
but only for girls. Among high school graduates of both genders, depressive symptomatology
is associated with failure to enter college.
This study offers support for the hypothesis that mental health problems experienced
early in the life course impair status attainment.