Negative school experiences in early adolescence on depressive affect in middle adulthood

This study takes a life course perspective to examine the long-term effect of negative school experiences during early adolescence on depressive affect in middle adulthood. The study uses a prospective longitudinal panel dataset that spanned nearly three decades with three waves: when respondents were at 7th grade (Time 1, mostly 12-13 years of age), young adulthood (Time 2, in their 20 s), and middle adulthood (Time 3, in their mid-30 s to early 40 s). The OLS regression models yielded results demonstrating that early negative school experiences were contemporaneously associated with depressive affect at Time 1, which endured through Time 2 and Time 3. Furthermore, independently of Time 1 control variables and the stability effects of depressive affect at Time 1 and Time 2, early negative school experiences still exerted a direct effect on depressive affect in middle adulthood. Ad hoc analysis demonstrated that this significant direct effect was mediated by the economic attainment of the respondents in middle adulthood net of the stability effects of depressive affect. Apparently, part of the influences of early negative school experiences on depressive affect in middle adulthood may be explained by its impeding economic attainment in adulthood, which in turn was associated with depressive affect.