The relationship of academic performance to depression and perceived home environment among gifted high school students.
Item
-
Title
-
The relationship of academic performance to depression and perceived home environment among gifted high school students.
-
Identifier
-
AAI9959229
-
identifier
-
9959229
-
Creator
-
Shaw, Robin B.
-
Contributor
-
Adviser: Carol Tittle
-
Date
-
2000
-
Language
-
English
-
Publisher
-
City University of New York.
-
Subject
-
Education, Educational Psychology | Psychology, Clinical | Sociology, Individual and Family Studies | Education, Special
-
Abstract
-
The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between depression, home environment, and school performance among gifted high school students. A Divergent Etiology approach to underachievement was proposed. It was hypothesized that underachievement is a multidimensional and multidetermined phenomenon and that underachievement is a symptom of underlying conflicts. Depression and perceived family environment were the underlying variables investigated. Two self-report instruments were employed: Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS), and the Family Environment Scale (FES). Male and female adolescents (n = 357) from a specialized New York City Public High School for gifted students completed the RADS, FES, and a demographic questionnaire.;A correlational design was employed to examine the relationship between academic performance and depression and perceived family environment. Spring semester grade point average (GPA) was used to measure academic performance. The RADS and three scales of the FES---cohesion, conflict and expressiveness---were utilized in correlation and multiple regression analyses. Depression, perceived family cohesion, conflict, and expressiveness were all significantly related to academic performance. Family cohesion had the highest correlation with GPA among the four variables. In the regression analysis, cohesion and depression significantly predicted GPA. However, when each variable was examined separately, only cohesion significantly predicted GPA. In addition, those students who scored high on depression and high on cohesion had significantly higher GPA scores than those who scored high on depression and low on cohesion. Depression was significantly related to students' perception of family cohesion, conflict and expressiveness. Supplemental analyses were conducted for ethnicity, gender, and extreme scoring groups in which significant differences were observed in the relative of cohesion and depression in predicting GPA.;The present study provides information on the nature of the relationships between depression, family environment variables and GPA, their ability to predict GPA, and the potential to identify students at risk for poor academic performance. This study thus supports the hypothesis that depression and perceived family environment are related to academic performance and that family environment appears to moderate the effects of depression on academic performance.
-
Type
-
dissertation
-
Source
-
PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
-
degree
-
Ph.D.
