Cross-Lagged Panel Network Analysis of Resilience and Depression in Disadvantaged Adolescents

Disadvantaged adolescents face greater challenges and are in more vulnerable positions, posing significant risks to their psychological development and long-term health. This study focuses on multiple resilience factors across emotional, family, school, and social domains, examining their longitudinal interplay with depressive symptoms, with particular attention to differences across social contexts.

A cross-lagged network analysis was conducted using longitudinal data from 820 adolescents recruited from two middle schools in northern China. Participants completed validated questionnaires assessing depressive symptoms, emotional resilience, family resilience, teacher support, friend support, and social support at two time points.

A total of 820 adolescents were included (mean age = 14.50 years, SD = 1.70; 48.84% male). Network analysis revealed distinct centrality patterns across groups. In the overall sample, social support showed the highest in-expected influence (in-EI), whereas friend support had the highest out-expected influence (out-EI). Among non-disadvantaged adolescents, teacher support had the highest in-EI and friend support the highest out-EI, while in the disadvantaged group, friend support showed the highest in-EI and teacher support the highest out-EI. Longitudinally, emotional resilience positively predicted social support in the overall sample and teacher support in non-disadvantaged adolescents, whereas teacher support predicted friend support in disadvantaged adolescents. Depressive symptoms negatively predicted emotional resilience in the overall and non-disadvantaged samples and were associated with reduced social support in the disadvantaged group.

High-quality friendships appear to play a central role in adolescents' resilience networks and may be relevant for mitigating depressive vulnerability. Emotional resilience and teacher emotional support emerged as important protective resources for non-disadvantaged adolescents, whereas teacher support and peer relationships constituted key components of the resilience network among disadvantaged adolescents. These findings highlight the importance of considering social context when designing strategies to support adolescent mental health.