The prevalence of mental health difficulties and distress among adolescent students is still on the rise. A notable increase often occurs at the onset of puberty and during the lower secondary school years. The reasons for this increase appear to be complex and interconnected. However, since adolescents spend a significant amount of their time in school, it is essential to gain a detailed understanding of the educational factors that may prevent or contribute to mental health challenges.
By using a latent growth curve modeling (LGCM) approach, this study investigated the trajectories of psychological distress (symptoms of anxiety and depression) in adolescent students (N=1968), across lower secondary school (grades 8-10). We aimed to examine whether classroom relationships— in particular emotional support from teachers, teachers' encouragement of students' growth mindset, academic peer collaboration, and peer relationships—predict the development of distress. Moreover, differences in female and male adolescent students in the association of classroom relationships and trajectories of psychological distress were examined.
The results indicate a steady increase in psychological distress as students' progress through the three years of lower secondary school. While most classroom relationships initially appear to reduce psychological distress, none of these factors effectively minimize its development over time. This is the general case as well as for female and male students. In fact, peer relationships and students' perceptions of emotional support from teachers are linked to increases in psychological distress across time. This finding is concerning and highlights how classroom dynamics may run the danger of exacerbating rather than alleviate the trajectories of distress during this critical period of adolescence. Findings also point to the fact that initiatives for prevention should be carefully considered.