Trajectories of co-occurrence of depressive symptoms and deviant behaviors: The influences of perceived social support and personal characteristics

Abstract

On the basis of mutual influence theories of depressive symptoms-deviant behaviors covariation, this study aimed to clarify the causal mechanism between depressive symptoms and deviant behaviors and to examine the influences of social support and personal characteristics on the co-occurrence of depressive symptoms and deviant behaviors in Taiwanese adolescents. The data was selected from the Taiwan Educational Panel Survey (TEPS). A total of four waves of students' data (N = 4163) were analyzed using auto-regressive latent trajectory models (ALT models). The levels of depressive symptoms and deviant behaviors mutually influenced each other across early adolescence. Only a negative association was found between teacher informational support and deviant behaviors. Furthermore, extroversion personality and gender influenced both depressive symptoms and deviant behaviors. The causal co-occurrence between depressive symptoms and deviant behaviors remained significant after considering influences of perceived social support, personality and gender. Co-occurrence of depressive symptoms and deviant behaviors during adolescence has serious implication for their current and future achievement and mental health. Depressive symptoms and deviant behaviors should be assessed in early adolescence and be identified as targets for prevent depression and deviance in the future.