Youth's school experience: Testing the role of symptoms of anxiety and co-occurring symptoms of depression

Although symptoms of anxiety often coexist with symptoms of depression, little is known on how such coexistence affects youth's school experiences. Objectives: We tested how the two types of behaviors, when coexisting, were associated with youth's negative attitude toward teachers, school, and poor peer relations. Method: Data were collected from 203 ethnically and socioeconomically diverse youth (male: 24.6%; mean = 15.8 years, standard deviation = 2.4) with the 3rd edition of the Behavioral Assessment for Children: Self-Report of Personality. Results: Scores for symptoms of depression alone explained negative attitude toward teachers (beta = .28; R-2 = 17.88%), negative attitude toward school (beta = .27; R-2 = 14.74%), and poor peer relations (beta = .42; R-2 = 44.60%) as effectively as scores for both types of behaviors did. Conclusion: The coexistence of symptoms of anxiety and depression did not appear to impair youth's attitude toward teachers, school and peer relations more than symptoms of depression did alone.