Emotional Distress,Drinking, and Academic Achievement Across the Adolescent Life Course

Our study of the adolescent life course proposes that substantial maturation occurs within three intertwined arenas of development: the social, the psychological, and the normative attainment. Further, each arena may be linked, respectively, to three youth problem dimensions: drinking, depressive affect, and academic achievement. We use latent growth curves and the Youth Development Study (effective N = 856) to track a panel of teens from their freshman to senior year in high school. There are 54.4% girls and 45.6% boys, and 75.7% non-Hispanic whites and 24.3% other races/ethnicities. Two research goals are addressed: (1) estimate each dimension’s unique developmental trajectory across high school, and (2) model the dimensions together in order to assess their reciprocal influences. While mean levels in all three dimensions increased over time, distinct developmental patterns were observed, especially in drinking and depression. For example, more drinking occasions—a social activity for most teens—may help assuage some teens’ emotional distress, especially girls’. These patterns suggest a synergistic relationship between the social and psychological arenas of development. Contrary to expectation, higher freshman depressive affect was associated with a significantly sharper increase in GPA over time for girls.

Devon J. HenselEmail:

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Timothy J. Owens   is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Purdue University, West Lafayette. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Minnesota. His primary research interests are life course contexts, development, and transitions; sociology of mental health; identity and self-concept; and sociology of children and adolescents. His most recent book is From Adolescence to Adulthood in the Vietnam Era (Springer 2005). Other projects include applying role and identity theory to estimating the probability and timing of death among American infantrymen in the Vietnam War. Nathan D. Shippee   is a 2008–2009 Fulbright research fellow in Ukraine. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from Purdue University in 2008. His research interests pertain to social psychology, criminology, criminal justice, and discourse analysis. Current projects include: violent victimization in the life course, wrongful conviction, legal cases regarding parents who kill their partners, stigma management, and national identity. Devon J. Hensel   is an Assistant Research Scientist, Section of Adolescent Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine. She received her Ph.D. in sociology from Purdue University in 2005. Current research interests include: adolescent health and development, sexual health and decision making, gender and longitudinal data analysis.