Abstract
The present two-year longitudinal study aimed to examine the relationship between depression and reasoning ability in adolescents, and further investigated the modulation effect of growth mindset on this relationship. A total of 1,961 and 1,667 Chinese adolescents participated in the study for the first year (T1) and second year (T2), respectively. The results showed that T1 depression was negatively correlated with T1 growth mindset (r = −0.35, p < 0.001), T1 reasoning (r = −0.30, p < 0.001), and T2 reasoning (r = −0.23, p < 0.001). Regression analysis revealed that T1 depression and the interaction between T1 depression and T1 growth mindset significantly predicted T1 reasoning (β = −0.220/−0.044, all ps < 0.05). After controlling for gender, age, family socioeconomic status, and T1 reasoning ability, both T1 depression and the interaction between T1 depression and T1 growth mindset still significantly predicted T2 reasoning (β = −0.104/β = 0.054, all ps < 0.05). The simple slope analysis found that the negative correlation between depression and reasoning in the high growth mindset group was weaker than that of the low growth mindset group in both T1 and T2, suggesting that growth mindset plays a significant moderating role in the relationship between depression and reasoning. In conclusion, depression was negatively correlated with reasoning ability in adolescents, in addition, growth mindset moderated the relationship between depression and reasoning.
Highlights
Depression refers to the mood disorder with a series of symptoms such as loss of interest, constant sadness, and impaired social function (Sadek and Bona, 2000)
The results showed that Time 1 (T1) depression was positively associated with mother’s educational level (r = 0.07, p = 0.001), and negatively associated with gender (r = −0.07, p < 0.001), T1 growth mindset (r = −0.35, p < 0.001), T1 reasoning ability (r = −0.30, p < 0.001), and Time 2 (T2) reasoning ability (r = −0.23, p < 0.001)
T1 growth mindset was positively associated with gender (r = 0.07, p = 0.015), T1 reasoning ability (r = 0.29, p < 0.001), and T2 reasoning ability (r = 0.16, p < 0.001)
Summary
Depression refers to the mood disorder with a series of symptoms such as loss of interest, constant sadness, and impaired social function (Sadek and Bona, 2000). Studies revealed that depression could damage cognitive abilities such as attention, working memory, and inhibition. Adolescence is a critical stage with complex physical and mental transitions, and studies found that depressive symptoms among adolescents have gradually increased (Pimentel et al, 2020). Questionnaire The background questionnaire investigated three parts information includes gender, age, and family socioeconomic status through self-report form. The annual household income and the year of parents’ education as two indicators to represent the family socioeconomic status. The answer options of annual household income question as follows: 9 ≥ 200,000; 8 = 150,000–199,999; 7 = 100,000–149,999; 6 = 50,000–99,999; 5 = 30,000–49,999; 4 = 10,000–29,999; 3 = 6,000–9,999; 2 = 3,001–5,999; 1 = < 3,001. Age Family annual income Father’s educational level Mother’s educational level 5.11* t −6.72***
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
