Self-Perceived Competence in Mainland China: A Multiwave Longitudinal Examination of Internalizing Symptoms in Chinese Adolescents

The present 9-wave, 2-year study examined whether Cole's (1991) theory of self-perceived competence could help explain vulnerability to depressive and anxiety symptoms in a sample of adolescents from mainland China. Participants included 624 adolescents (319 females and 305 males) from an urban school in Changsha (n=308) and from a rural school in Liuyang (n=316). Findings showed that self-perceived academic competence was negatively associated with prospective depressive and anxiety symptoms. Meanwhile, adolescents with low levels of self-perceived social competence were at heightened risk for depressive symptoms during times of increased stressors (supporting a vulnerability-stress model). These findings advance past research by highlighting new developmental pathways for depressive and anxiety symptoms in Chinese adolescents.