Co-occurrence of depressive moods and delinquency in early adolescence: The role of failure expectations, manipulativeness, and social contexts

Abstract

This study examined the co-occurrence of depression and delinquency in early adolescents, focusing on longitudinal associations with failure expectations and manipulativeness, and on perceptions of relationships with parents, school and teachers, and peers. Data were used from 1,059 Swedish adolescents aged 13 to 15, who participated in 2 waves (T1–1998; T2–2000) of an ongoing longitudinal research. Results showed that depression and delinquency co-occurred in about 9% of respondents, and that depression and delinquency followed separate developments throughout early adolescence. Development of co-occurring depression and delinquency was positively linked to a later constellation of high failure expectations and manipulativeness across a 2-year period. Additionally, the development of combined failure expectations and manipulativeness was positively linked to a later co-occurrence of depression and delinquency across a 2-year period. Further, the cooccurrence of depression and delinquency was predicted by lower-quality relationships with parents and negative attitudes towards school and teachers, whereas a constellation of high failure expectations and manipulativeness was linked to earlier negative interactions with parents and feeling isolated from peers.