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July 24, 2008Serious school failure turns out to be a real bummer for girls, but not boys |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Adolescent girls who had a serious school failure by the 12th grade -- being expelled, suspended or dropping out -- were significantly more likely to have suffered a serious bout of depression at the age of 21 than girls who did not have these problems. New research published this week in the Journal of Adolescent Health showed that girls who had early conduct problems in elementary school also were at increased risk for depression in early adulthood. However, the University of Washington study did not show any link for boys between academic, behavior or social problems and depression at age 21. "For girls there are broader implications of school failure," said Carolyn McCarty, a UW research associate professor of pediatrics and lead author of the study. The study showed that girls who were expelled from school were more than twice as likely to suffer depression -- 44 percent compared to 20 percent of girls who were not expelled. "This gender paradox shows that while school failure is more atypical for girls it appears to have more severe consequences when it does occur," said McCarty. McCarty said the study points to the need for communities to create integrated prevention programs to help children deal with academic, social and behavioral problems. "When adolescents have these kinds of problems and experiences, the response tends to be focused purely on the academic, in part because the school and mental health systems are distinct. Funding for the research came from the National Association of Schizophrenia and Affective Disorder, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
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