Depressive Symptoms of Maltreated Adolescents: An Examination of Aggressive Behavior, Peer Relationships, and School Engagement

Background and Purpose: Although a volume of literature has documented that maltreated adolescents are at an elevated risk of developing depressive symptoms, the potential mechanisms still need more exploration. According to the developmental psychopathology perspective and interpersonal theories of depression, adolescents who experience child maltreatment are more likely to develop depressive symptoms through heightened social-behavioral deficits, such as aggressive behavior, and relationship disturbances, like peer relationship problems and poorer school engagement. Furthermore, girls and boys may follow different paths as girls may be more sensitive to relationship disturbances than boys. This study examines the relationships between child maltreatment, aggressive behavior, peer relationships, school engagement, and depressive symptoms in adolescents and explores potential gender differences in these relationships. This study aims to answer two research questions: 1. Do aggressive behavior, peer relationships, and school engagement mediate the path between child maltreatment and adolescent depressive symptoms? And 2. Do the associations among child maltreatment, aggressive behavior, peer relationships, school engagement, and depressive symptoms differ by gender?

Methods: This study used data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II (NSCAW II), a longitudinal study that investigates the outcomes and well-being of children and families who were involved in the child welfare system. Three waves of data were collected over three years, and this study used data across all waves. A total of 344 adolescents aged between 10 to 14 years were included in the analysis. Child maltreatment was assessed using the Conflict Tactics Scale Parent-Child version. Aggressive behavior was measured by the Aggressive Behavior subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist. Adolescents self-reported their peer relationship quality using the Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Questionnaire for Young Children and their perceived school engagement using the School Engagement Subscale of the U.S. Department of Education’s Drug Free Schools Outcome Study Questions. Depressive symptoms were measured by the Child Depressive Inventory. Structural equation modeling was employed to examine the relationships between child maltreatment, aggressive behavior, peer relationship, school engagement, and depressive symptoms. Particularly, multiple-group analyses were conducted to assess whether the estimated paths differed by gender.

Results: We found that gender moderated the estimated paths. In particular, for girls, child maltreatment at baseline significantly predicted aggressive behavior at Wave 2, which was associated with more peer relationship problems and lower school engagement. Peer relationship problems, but not school engagement, further predicted more depressive symptoms. For boys, child maltreatment did not predict aggressive behavior. Boys’ aggressive behavior was only associated with school engagement. Both peer relationship problems and school engagement were associated with boys’ depressive symptoms.

Conclusions and Implications: Overall, this study reveals the paths from child maltreatment to depressive symptoms in child welfare-involved adolescents through aggressive behavior, peer relationships, and school engagement. Furthermore, the findings also indicate gender differences across these paths. This study highlights the importance of trauma-informed practices for school-based interventions and the necessity of tailored interventions for different gender groups to better mitigate depressive symptoms in vulnerable adolescents.