Interpersonal and achievement orientations and specific stressors predict depressive and aggressive symptoms

From a prospective study of the development of psychopathology, 129 adolescents were identified who transitioned to a new school in ninth grade. The current study examined the contributions of sex, interpersonal and achievement orientations, peer and academic stressors, and their interactions to the prediction of depressive and aggressive symptoms following the high-school transition. Among girls, higher levels of interpersonal and achievement orientations were associated with increases in depressive and aggressive symptoms, respectively, following the experience of domain-congruent stressors. The positive relation between academic stressors and depressive symptoms was significantly stronger for girls than boys. For boys, high levels of academic stressors were associated with increases in aggressive symptoms regardless of their level of achievement orientation.