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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Sep 1.
Published in final edited form as: Br J Educ Psychol. 2015 Apr 10;85(3):316–331. doi: 10.1111/bjep.12075

Interdependence of Depressive Symptoms, School Involvement, and Academic Performance between Adolescent Friends: A Dyadic Analysis

Chong Man Chow 1, Cin Cin Tan 1,2, Duane Buhrmester 3
PMCID: PMC4534309  NIHMSID: NIHMS677225  PMID: 25858014

Abstract

Background

Friendships play an important role in the development of school involvement and academic performance during adolescence. This study examined the interdependence of depressive symptoms, school involvement, and academic performance between adolescent same-sex friends.

Aims

Using cross-sectional data, we examined whether the link between depressive symptoms and academic performance would be mediated by school involvement at the intrapersonal (actor) and interpersonal (partner) levels.

Sample

Data came from 155 pairs of same-sex adolescent friends (80 boys; Mage = 16.17, SD = .44). The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) was used to examine the dyadic data and mediation hypotheses.

Results

Mediated actor effects showed that adolescents who had more depressive symptoms reported lower academic performance, and such an association was mediated by their own and their friend’s lower school involvement. Mediated partner effects showed that adolescents who had more depressive symptoms also had a friend with lower academic performance, and such an association was mediated by both individuals’ lower school involvement.

Conclusions

This study provided evidence to support the broader interpersonal framework for understanding school involvement and academic performance. The current findings also have potential practical implications, especially for programs targeted at addressing adolescents’ school problems.

Keywords: depressive symptoms, school involvement, academic performance, actor-partner interdependence model, friendships, adolescence

Adolescent friends often share similar attitudes, motivations, and behaviors towards school (Berndt, 1999; Véronneau & Dishion, 2011) and academic performance (Cook, Deng, & Morgano, 2007; Crosnoe, Cavanagh, & Elder, 2003; Véronneau, Vitaro, Brendgen, Dishion, & Tremblay, 2010; Wentzel, Barry, & Caldwell, 2004). Similar characteristics exhibited by close friends are termed as “friendship homophily” in developmental psychology (Brechwald & Prinstein, 2011). There are two possible explanations for friendship homophily: selection and socialization processes. First, because friends with similar characteristics may provide a supportive environment that validates their own views and behavior, adolescents may select or affiliate with friends who share common characteristics, including their academic beliefs and behaviors (Kandel, 1978). Second, because adolescents are attuned to and influenced by the attitudes and behaviors of friends (Brechwald & Prinstein, 2011), the transmission of academic behaviors and beliefs between friends is plausible through mutual influence and socialization (Jones, Audley-Piotrowski, & Kiefer, 2012; Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 2006). Through both processes, friendships during adolescence serve as an important formative context in which school involvement and academic performance are developed and maintained.

Although there is a large body of research on the association between friends’ characteristics and adolescents’ school adjustment (e.g., academic performance), most studies have focused on friends’ externalizing problem behaviors (Véronneau & Dishion, 2011; Vitaro, Brendgen, & Wanner, 2005). For instance, studies found that having friends who engaged in aggression, substance abuse, and delinquent behaviors was associated with adolescents’ own poorer academic performance (Patterson, Reid, & Dishion, 1992; Véronneau & Dishion, 2011; Vitaro et al., 2005). Little is known, however, about how friends’ internalizing behaviors, such as depressive symptoms, play a role in adolescents’ school involvement and academic performance. We argued that this research question is important for two reasons. First, adolescence is a developmental period characterized by increased vulnerability to depressive symptoms (Nolen-Hoeksema & Girgus, 1994). Depressive symptoms are a risk factor for lower school involvement and poorer academic performance, which in turn, may escalate depressive symptoms (Fröjd et al., 2008; Humensky et al., 2010; Shahar et al., 2006; Verboom, Sijtsema, Verhulst, Penninx, & Ormel, 2014). Second, through selection and social processes, adolescent friends often have similar levels of depressive symptoms (Van Zalk, Kerr, Branje, Stattin, & Meeus, 2010; Giletta et al., 2011). Whereas it has been well documented that adolescent friends’ depressive symptoms are congruent, little is known whether adolescents’ personal experiences of depressive symptoms would be associated with their friend’s school involvement and academic performance. The current study utilized a dyadic design and focused on investigating the interdependence of adolescent friends’ (1) depressive symptoms and school involvement and (2) school involvement and academic performance. Furthermore, the current study investigated how school involvement would mediate depressive symptoms and academic performance at both intrapersonal and interpersonal levels using the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM; Kenny, Kashy, & Cook, 2006).

Depressive Symptoms and School Involvement

Intrapersonal association

School involvement is a multifaceted construct defined as students’ tendency to engage in academic and extracurricular activities, positive attitudes to teachers and school, and willingness to demonstrate efforts in mastering academic skills (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004). Depressive symptoms often interfere with adolescents’ development including their school involvement. Adolescents with more depressive symptoms show low interest and motivation to participate in various social activities, including academic-related activities (Garvik, Idsoe, & Bru, 2014; Kovacs & Goldstone, 1991; Roeser & Eccles, 2000). Indeed, research showed that adolescents with more depressive symptoms enjoyed school less, devoted less effort to academic performance, and cared less about school (Humensky et al., 2010; Kingery, Erdley, & Marshall, 2011; Li & Lerner, 2011). Furthermore, adolescents who experienced more depressive symptoms felt “burnout” from school (e.g., exhaustion due to school demands, cynical about the purpose of schooling, detachment from school; Salmela-Aro, Savolainen, & Holopainen, 2009). Ironically, students who did not perform well in school, in turn, experienced more depressive symptoms (Verboom et al., 2014).

Interpersonal association

Although the intrapersonal association between depressive symptoms and school involvement is well documented (Humensky et al., 2010; Salmela-Aro et al., 2009), the interdependence of depressive symptoms on school involvement between friends is unknown. According to crossover effect, negative emotion of one person may affect another close partner’s behavioral and psychological outcomes (Bolger et al., 1989; Thompson & Bolger, 1999). Thus, adolescents’ depressive symptoms may influence their friend’s school involvement, regardless of their friend’s own depressive symptoms. Second, supportive peer interaction is a strong motivator for adolescents to be involved in school (Wentzel, 1998; Wentzel et al., 2004). Having friends who suffer from more depressive symptoms may fail to provide adolescents with adequate social support and could demotivate them from involving in school. Together, it is likely that adolescents’ depressive symptoms would be related to their friend’s school involvement.

School Involvement and Academic Performance

Intrapersonal association

Researchers suggest that higher school involvement should promote better academic performance (Li & Lerner, 2011; Liem & Martin, 2011). Specifically, higher school involvement prevents adolescents from engaging in activities (e.g., delinquency, substance use) that increase their risks for academic failure (Li & Lerner, 2011). Furthermore, higher school involvement exposes adolescents to more learning opportunities beyond the classroom, that in turn, lead to increased academic skills. Indeed, research has consistently found that higher behavioral involvement (e.g., completing homework, attendance) and emotional involvement (e.g., feeling attached to school, close to teachers) were predictive of better grades (Chase, Hilliard, Geldhof, Warren, & Lerner, 2014; Finn & Rock 1997).

Interpersonal association

Lower school involvement is harmful not only to adolescents’ own academic performance, but also to their close friends’ academic performance (Véronneau & Dishion, 2011). For instance, having a friend who is more involved in school may provide adolescents with a learning environment that is more engaging and stimulating, which promotes better academic performance (Véronneau & Dishion, 2011). Furthermore, adolescents may have the privileges to access valuable academic support (e.g., efficient academic coping skills) from their friend who is highly involved in school (Véronneau & Dishion, 2011). Indeed, findings showed that friends’ school involvement was related to adolescents’ better academic performance (Altermatt & Pomerantz, 2003; Véronneau & Dishion, 2011).

Actor Partner Interdependence Model (APIM)

Direct actor and partner effects

The intrapersonal and interpersonal associations of two friends’ depressive symptoms, school involvement, and academic performance could be examined within the framework of actor-partner interdependence model (APIM; Kenny et al., 2006). According to the APIM (see Figure 1), an outcome in a relationship is a function of the target person’s personal characteristic (actor effect) as well as the partner’s characteristic (partner effect). Based on previous research on depressive symptoms and school involvement (Garvik et al., 2014), we hypothesized that adolescents’ more depressive symptoms would be associated with lower school involvement (actor paths a1). Furthermore, due to crossover effect (Bolger et al., 1989), we hypothesized that more depressive symptoms in adolescents would be associated with their friend’s lower school involvement (partner paths p1). Furthermore, previous research showed that lower school involvement was not only harmful to adolescents’ own academic performance (Li & Lerner, 2011; Liem & Martin, 2011), but also to their close friend’s academic performance (Véronneau & Dishion, 2011). Therefore, we hypothesized that adolescents’ lower school involvement would be associated with their own lower academic performance (actor paths a2) and their friend’s lower academic performance (partner paths p2).

Figure 1.

Figure 1

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Theoretical representation of APIM of friends’ depressive symptoms and academic performance mediated by school involvement at the actor and partner levels. Paths “a” are actor effects and paths “p” are partner effects. Estimates for Friend A and Friend B are identical because of the interchangeability of same-sex friends. Double-headed arrows are correlations.

Mediated actor and partner effects

Integrating previous research on depressive symptoms, school involvement, and academic performance (Garvik et al., 2014; Roeser & Eccles, 2000; Véronneau & Dishion, 2011), as well as research on crossover effects (Bolger et al., 1989), we proposed an integrative model that suggests that the association between depressive symptoms and academic performance would be mediated by school involvement at the intrapersonal (actor) and interpersonal (partner) levels (see Figure 1).1 A total of four possible mediational paths were proposed. First, we hypothesized that adolescents who have more depressive symptoms would be less involved in school, which in turn, related to their own lower academic performance (mediated actor effect 1). Second, we hypothesized that adolescents who have more depressive symptoms would be less involved in school, which in turn, related to their friend’s lower academic performance (mediated partner effect 1). Third, we hypothesized that adolescents’ depressive symptoms are associated with their friend’s poorer academic performance through their friend’s own lower school involvement (mediated partner effect 2). Fourth, because having a friend who is less involved in school would also be related to adolescents’ own lower academic performance (Véronneau & Dishion, 2011), we hypothesized that the association between adolescents’ depressive symptoms and their own academic performance would be mediated by their friend’s lower school involvement (mediated actor effect 2). The proposed model in Figure 1 would be examined within the framework of Structural Equation Model (SEM; Muthén & Muthén, 2010).

Method

Participants and Procedure

The current data came from a larger study on adolescents’ families and friends. To recruit potential participants, recruitment letters were mailed to families with adolescents attending public schools in the North Texas region, USA. Families who were interested in the study contacted the researchers to schedule for a home-visit. To be eligible for the study, the adolescents recruited a same-sex close friend to participate. During the home visit, informed consents were first obtained from the target adolescents, two parents, and same-sex friend. Informed consent from the recruited friend’s parents was also obtained during the home visit. To protect their confidentiality, the target adolescents, two parents, and same-sex friend were separated into private areas of the home to complete a questionnaire package. All participants placed their questionnaires in a sealed envelope to ensure that others could not see their responses. The target adolescents and parents together received $40 and the same-sex friend received $20 for their participation.

For the current study, only the target adolescents’ and the same-sex friend’s data were analyzed. A total of 155 target adolescents (80 boys; Mage = 16.17 years, SD = .44) and their self-nominated best friend were included in the current study. Most of the target adolescents (88.9%) were Caucasian, with 3.9% African-American, 2.6% Hispanic, and 4.6% other. A majority of the target adolescents (62.1%) came from upper middle-class households (annual income > $70,000) and lived with both biological parents (81%; 6.6% single parent, and 11% biological and step parent).

Measures

Depressive symptoms

Adolescents’ depressive symptoms were assessed with the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI; Kovacs, 1992). The original version of CDI contains 27 items capturing cognitive, affective, and behavioral symptoms of depression. For each item, participants were asked to select one of the three statements (scored from 0 to 2) that best described their depressive symptoms in the previous 2 weeks. One item on suicidal ideation was deleted from the original measure, as suggested by the IRB. An average score was computed across the remaining 26 items, with higher scores reflecting more depressive symptoms. In the current sample, the Cronbach’s alphas for adolescents and their friend were .84 and .87, respectively. Psychometric properties for the CDI have been demonstrated in previous research (e.g., Masip, Amador-Campos, Gómez-Benito, & Gándara, 2010; Saylor, Finch, Spirito, & Bennett, 1984).

School involvement

Adolescents’ school involvement was measured using a subscale from the Attitudes toward School Survey (Buhrmester, 1992, see Appendix). The school involvement subscale contains 6 items that measure adolescents’ involvement in academic activities, positive reactions toward school, and willingness to demonstrate effort in mastering academic skills. One example item reads, “Fail to pay attention to what the teachers are saying.” Participants rated each item on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (Not true) to 5 (Extremely true). An average score was then computed across the 6 items, with higher scores reflecting higher school involvement. In the current sample, the Cronbach’s alphas for adolescents and their friend were .74 and .68, respectively.

Academic performance

Adolescents reported their academic performance in mathematics, English, and overall class performance (3 items) based on their recollection of last report card. They reported their grades for each item on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (F) to 5 (A). The 3 items were then averaged to form the academic performance subscale, with higher scores reflecting better grades. In the current sample, the Cronbach’s alphas for adolescents and their friend were .76 and .67, respectively. Validity of self-report assessment of academic performance has been demonstrated in previous research (Kuncel, Crede, & Thomas, 2005; Watson & Russell, 2014).

Results

Testing Distinguishability

Dyadic data can be generally classified as either distinguishable dyads or indistinguishable dyads (Kenny et al., 2006). For distinguishable dyads, there are clear roles that differentiate two members in a relationship (e.g., parent versus child, husband versus wife). In contrast, for indistinguishable dyads, there is no clear criterion that distinguishes the roles of two members. In the current study, friend dyads could be distinguished by the roles of “target adolescent” versus “recruited friend”. Despite that, because adolescent friendships are egalitarian in nature, an explicit test of distinguishability of the same-sex friend dyads was conducted (Kenny et al., 2006). Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM, Muthén & Muthén, 2010), we first specified a baseline (saturated) model in which all means, variances, and covariances across two friends were allowed to vary. Then, we compared the baseline model with a constrained model in which all parameters across two friends were set to be equivalent. A chi-square difference test was then conducted to compare the baseline versus constrained model. A significant chi-square change would suggest that the dyads were distinguishable. When the equality constrains across two friends were imposed, the model fit change was not significant, Δχ2(12) = 19.07, p = .09. The nonsignificant model change showed that the roles of the friends were indeed indistinguishable (Kenny et al., 2006). Therefore, all subsequent analyses were based on the constrained model.

Descriptive Analyses

Table 1 shows the means and standard deviations of the current study’s variables. Table 1 also shows the (a) within-individual correlations, (b) cross-partner correlations, and (c) intraclass correlations. Within-individual correlations showed that adolescents with more depressive symptoms also reported lower school involvement and lower academic performance. Furthermore, adolescents’ lower school involvement was associated with lower academic performance. Cross-partner correlations revealed that adolescents with more depressive symptoms also had a friend who reported lower school involvement and lower academic performance. Also, adolescents’ lower school involvement was associated with their friend’s lower academic performance. Intraclass correlations showed that adolescents and their friend exhibited similar levels of school involvement and academic performance.

Table 1.

Means, Standard Deviations, and Correlations of Study Variables

Depressive Symptoms School Involvement Academic Performance
Depressive Symptoms .12 −.18** −.15**
School Involvement −.55** .16* 24**
Academic performance −.36** .54** .27**
M 1.35 3.50 4.19
SD .25 .73 .74
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Note. Table shows within-individual (below diagonal), between-individual (above diagonal), and intraclass (diagonal) correlations. Coefficients were computed with Maximum Likelihood procedure in Mplus.

*

p < .05

**

p < .01.

Actor-partner Interdependence Model

We specified the proposed APIM (see Figure 1) with a path model implemented in Mplus 6.11 (Muthén & Muthén, 2010). In addition to the direct actor and partner effects, this model also estimated the mediated actor and partner effects of school involvement between depressive symptoms and academic performance through indirect effects (e.g., a1*a2 and a1*p2) and bias-corrected confidence intervals estimated by the bootstrapping procedures in Mplus 6.11 (Muthén & Muthén, 2010). Figure 2 shows the estimated path model and standardized path coefficients. The model fitted the data well, with χ2(12) = 19.07, p = .09, CFI = .97, TLI = .96, RMSEA = .06.

Figure 2.

Figure 2

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Empirical representation of the APIM. All path coefficients are standardized. Estimates for Friend A and Friend B are identical because the paths are constrained across friends. *p < .05; **p < .01.

Actor level direct and mediation effects

Direct actor effects revealed that adolescents who had more depressive symptoms were less involved in school (actor effect a1). Adolescents’ lower involvement in school, furthermore, was associated with their own lower academic performance (actor effect a2). Table 2 shows the mediation effects along with significance tests. Mediated actor effect showed that the association between adolescents’ depressive symptoms and academic performance was mediated by their own school involvement (mediated actor effect 1). Specifically, adolescents who were more depressed also showed less school involvement, which in turn, was related to lower academic performance. Furthermore, the link between adolescents’ depressive symptoms and their own academic performance was also mediated by their friend’s school involvement (mediated actor effect 2). Adolescents who had more depressive symptoms had a friend who showed less school involvement, which in turn, was related to adolescents’ lower academic performance.

Table 2.

Indirect (Mediation) Effects from the APIM with School Involvement as Mediator between Depressive Symptoms and Academic Performance

Estimate SE 95% CI
A-Depressive symptoms ➔ A-Involvement ➔ A- −.26** .04 −.344 - −.173
Performance
A-Depressive symptoms ➔ P-Involvement ➔ A- −.02* .01 −.039 - −.001
Performance
A-Depressive symptoms ➔ A-Involvement ➔ P- −.09** .03 −.148 - −.033
Performance
A-Depressive symptoms ➔ P-Involvement ➔ P- −.06* .03 −.107 - −.007
Performance
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Note. A = Actor, P = Partner. Standard errors (SE) and bias corrected confidence intervals were estimated based on bootstrap sampling of 5000.

*

p < .05

**

p < .01.

Partner level direct and mediation effects

Direct partner effects showed that adolescents’ depressive symptoms were related to their friend’s lower school involvement (partner effect p1). Adolescents’ lower school involvement was also related to their friend’s lower academic performance (partner effect p2). Mediated partner effect (see Table 2) showed that the association between adolescents’ depressive symptoms and their friend’s academic performance was mediated by their own school involvement (mediated partner effect 1). Specifically, adolescents who had more depressive symptoms showed less school involvement, which in turn, was associated with their friend’s lower academic performance. Furthermore, mediated partner effect showed that adolescents’ depressive symptoms and their friend’s academic performance was mediated by their friend’s own school involvement (mediated partner effect 2). Specifically, adolescents who had more depressive symptoms had a friend who was less involved in school and in turn, performed poorer in school.

Discussion

The current study represents the first effort to examine the dyadic dynamics among depressive symptoms, school involvement, and academic performance. We examined the interdependence of adolescent friends’ (1) depressive symptoms and school involvement and (2) school involvement and academic performance. Furthermore, we examined how school involvement would mediate depressive symptoms and academic performance at both intrapersonal (actor) and interpersonal (partner) levels. Overall, this study provided an initial support to the possible mediation pathways from depressive symptoms to academic performance through school involvement, at both actor and partner levels.

Depressive Symptoms, School Involvement, and Academic Performance: Intrapersonal Analyses

Previous research found that adolescents who suffered from more depressive symptoms showed lower school involvement, indicated by lower motivation to engage in academic-related activities and less positive connection with teachers and school (Li & Lerner, 2011). Furthermore, past research also showed that adolescents’ lack of school involvement was related to lower academic performance (Liem & Martin, 2011). Previous research did not examine whether school involvement would serve as a mediator between depressive symptoms and academic performance. The current study integrated these lines of research and revealed that adolescents with more depressive symptoms were less involved in school, and their lower involvement in school was related to poorer academic performance (mediated actor effect 1). Viewing the current findings from a broader perspective, adolescents with more depressive symptoms may hold negative patterns of self-beliefs and tend to feel anxious about school performance (Roeser & Eccles, 2000; Quiroga, Janosz, M., Bisset, & Morin, 2013). As a result, they may feel helpless, and less motivated to participate in academic related activities (e.g., attendance, attention in class), which could be harmful to their academic performance. Furthermore, adolescents with more depressive symptoms also have more difficulties (e.g., conflict) with their peer relationships in school (Rose et al., 2011). Difficulties with peers, in turn, may reduce their interests in and attachment to school. Lower emotional involvement in school, not surprisingly, may also lead to poorer academic performance. Whereas the current study provided an initial support to the possible mediating role of school involvement between depressive symptoms and academic performance, we argued that the linkages among these constructs could be more complicated. Specifically, reciprocal influences of depressive symptoms and academic performance are plausible, and school involvement may serve as a mediator in these processes. These assumptions, however, require future research that employs a longitudinal design.

Depressive Symptoms, School Involvement, and Academic Performance: Interpersonal Analyses

The most important feature of the current study was the dyadic approach. As expected, adolescents’ school involvement was not only associated with their own depressive symptoms, but also their friend’s depressive symptoms. In other words, adolescents who had a more depressed friend, regardless of their own depressive symptoms, were less likely to be involved in academic related activities and enjoyed school less. There are two possible explanations for the current findings (Van Zalk et al., 2010). First, from the homophilic selection perspective, adolescents who were more depressed might choose a friend who was less involved and performed poorly in school. Because friendships serve as an important source of support during adolescence (see Chow, Roelse, Buhrmester, & Underwood, 2011), it is possible that depressed adolescents would seek a friend who shared similar problems (e.g., failing a class), and that this may provide temporary remedies for their distress. Second, according to the socialization perspective, adolescents with a friend who suffered from depressive symptoms might also experience the negative affect through the process of crossover effect (Bolger et al., 1989). It is possible that depressive symptoms and school problems may become interrelated across friends through dyadic interactions such as co-rumination (Rose, 2002; Rose, Carlson, & Waller, 2007). Specifically, friends may discuss their school-related worries and stress. Over time, both may exhibit similar levels of emotional problems, which could further contribute to similar levels of school related problems. The current findings, however, were not able to disentangle between the selection and socialization processes. Nevertheless, the current study has provided an important foundation for future longitudinal research to examine these processes.

This study demonstrated that adolescents’ academic performance was not solely associated with their own school involvement, but also their friend’s school involvement. Specifically, findings showed that having a friend who was less involved in academic-related activities was related to adolescents’ lower performance in school, even when their own involvement was controlled for. These results were consistent with previous research on young adolescents (Véronneau & Dishion, 2011), suggesting that adolescent friends may mutually reinforce each other’s learning goals and academic coping skills through the interpersonal processes of social comparison and modeling. We argued that it is through these interpersonal processes that adolescents translated their friend’s school involvement into their own academic achievement.

It is noteworthy that we also extended the traditional APIM by examining the mediation model within the context of dyadic friendships. Mediation effect showed that more depressed adolescents were less involved in school; their lack of involvement in school, interestingly, was also related to their friend’s lower academic performance (mediated partner effect 1). Furthermore, mediation effects showed that more depressed adolescents also had a friend who was less involved in school; their friend’s lower involvement in school, in turn, was related to both individuals’ lower academic performance (mediated actor effect 2, mediated partner effect 2). These findings suggest that adolescents might have internalized the depressive symptoms experienced by their friends and felt less motivated and positive toward school; these attitudes, in turn, were related to lower academic performance.

Although the current study was based on cross-sectional data, we argue that the current dyadic friendship model is especially important for understanding the stability and change in depressive symptoms, school involvement, and academic performance longitudinally. For instance, through socialization processes, two friends may experience parallel development of depressive symptoms. Parallel development in depressive symptoms, in turn, may account for both members’ subsequent stability and change in school involvement and academic performance. Furthermore, the current model can be generalized to examining whether longitudinal changes in depressive symptoms and academic performance would be mediated by school involvement, and how such a mediation process would manifest at the actor and partner levels.

Limitations and Future Directions

Although we proposed the directional influences of depressive symptoms on school involvement and in turn, academic performance, the current study’s cross-sectional nature has precluded us from making a causal inference about these constructs. Several alternative explanations for the results are noteworthy. First, although the model assumes that depressive symptoms have an effect on adolescents’ school maladjustment (e.g., poorer performance), it is certainly possible that having more problems in school may lead to more depressive symptoms. Second, although the model assumes that friends’ depressive symptoms have an effect on adolescents’ school involvement, it is possible that adolescents who are highly involved in school (e.g., participating in extracurricular activities) would encounter and befriend others with less depressive symptoms. Third, although the model assumes that friends’ school involvement would influence adolescents’ academic performance, it is equally possible that adolescents with poorer grades seek out friends who are less involved in school. Hence, future research may employ a longitudinal design to better clarify the directionality between depressive symptoms and school-related difficulties. For instance, a longitudinal design would permit the examination of the reciprocal and bidirectional associations between depressive symptoms and academic performance (Salmela-Aro et al., 2009) in the context of dyadic friendships. Furthermore, it is possible to employ a latent growth curves approach (McArdle, 2009) to document the parallel change of depressive symptoms, school involvement, and academic performance between two friends over the course of adolescence. Alternatively, researchers may employ an experimental approach to investigate the effect of depressive symptoms on school-related difficulties in the context of friendships. One experimental procedure proposed by Byrd-Craven, Granger, and Auer (2011) is particularly relevant. Specifically, negative affect may be induced by asking friend dyads to discuss about their personal stress. This “problem-talk” group may then be compared to the control group (friend dyads who engage in a neutral conversation) in terms of their performance in various cognitive or learning tasks. This experimental approach would provide stronger evidence for the causal effect of depressive mood on school outcomes in friendships. Nevertheless, the current study has provided important evidence to support the theoretical model, which warrants for future longitudinal or experimental research.

Second, all variables in the current study were based on adolescents’ self-reports. As mentioned earlier, adolescents who had more depressive symptoms might have seen their world through a negative lens and hence, reported biased evaluation of their school involvement and performance. Therefore, it is important for future research to capture adolescents’ actual grade performance through report-cards. Alternatively, adolescents’ depressive symptoms and school involvement could be measured through other-report including parents or teachers. We argued that having a multiple-informant design is crucial to addressing the issue of self-report biases. Furthermore, an experimental induction of depressive mood and its effect on learning would be crucial in remedying the shared-method variance problem.

Third, the current sample was rather homogenous in terms of its demographic background. Specifically, the findings were limited to middle-class adolescents and the results may not be generalized to populations such as adolescents with lower socioeconomic status (SES). For instance, past research showed that low SES was a risk factor for adolescents’ lower academic performance, but such an association was buffered by higher levels of social support (Malecki & Demaray, 2006). Because close friendships are important sources of social support (Chow et al., 2011), it would be important to investigate whether having a depressed friend, who may no longer provide the therapeutic function of social support, would escalate the risk of low SES on academic performance. Furthermore, we focused on adolescents’ depressive symptoms rather than clinical diagnoses. It is important for future research to examine whether the crossover effects of friends’ depressive symptoms on adolescents’ school involvement is especially profound in the clinical population compared to nonclinical population. It is also crucial to acknowledge that friend dyads in the current study were limited to same-sex friends. Although theory suggests that same-sex friendships play a crucial role in adolescents’ psychological development (Sullivan, 1953), more recent theory and research suggest that opposite-sex friends gradually emerge as important social ties, especially during middle and late adolescence (Buhrmester & Furman, 1986). Therefore, it would be fruitful for future research to apply the current model to both same-sex and opposite-sex friends, examining their influence on adolescents’ school involvement and academic performance, especially on comparing their relative predictive power.

Conclusions

The current research provided evidence to support the broader interpersonal framework for understanding school involvement and academic performance. The current findings also have practical implications, especially for programs targeted at addressing adolescents’ school problems. The current study showed that school problems may develop within adolescents’ dyadic friendships through the transmission of depressive symptoms between friends. Therefore, it is important for interventions to focus on friend dyads’ psychological distress instead of just one individual when attempting to remediate the effect of depressive symptoms on school involvement and academic performance. Furthermore, because crossover effect often occurs and emerges in the context of emotion-focused conversation between friends, clinical interventions may focus on helping adolescent friends to develop skills in regulating their negative emotion through constructive social support conversations (e.g., problem-focused) instead of co-rumination (Rose, 2002). This approach may be useful in addressing the crossover effect of depressive symptoms in friendships. In summary, the current study’s findings increased the understanding of adolescents’ depressive symptoms, school involvement, and academic performance in the context of dyadic friendships.

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by National Institute of Health grant 5R01HD029170 awarded to Duane Buhrmester, Ph.D.

Appendix

Factor Loadings for Adolescents’ Self- and Friend-Report of School Involvement Items

Factor Loadings
Self-Report Friend-Report
1. Seem to enjoy school .769 .746
2. Take part in class discussions .346 .321
3. Fail to pay attention to what the teachers
 are saying (negatively scored)		 .735 .610
4. Care about getting the best grades they can .734 .719
5. Complete homework assignments .783 .732
6. Seem to hate schoolwork (negatively
 scored)		 .573 .575
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Notes. Although Item 2’s loading was lower than others, considering its face validity, we decided to keep this item in the scale.

Footnotes

1

Although the proposed model suggests that depressive symptoms have an effect on academic performance through school involvement, these causal assumptions are completely theoretical. We would like to note that the current study’s cross-sectional nature has prevented us from making causal inferences about these constructions, and such a limitation is discussed more extensively in the Discussion section.

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