Do Psychiatric Disorders from Late Childhood through Adolescence Predict School Outcomes over and above Temperament? Findings from a Longitudinal Study of Mexican-Origin Youth
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| Title: | Do Psychiatric Disorders from Late Childhood through Adolescence Predict School Outcomes over and above Temperament? Findings from a Longitudinal Study of Mexican-Origin Youth |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Rongxin Cheng (ORCID |
| Source: | Developmental Psychology. 2026 62(6):1263-1282. |
| Availability: | American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 20 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (DHHS/PHS) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (DHHS/NIH) |
| Contract Number: | DA017902 MH123530 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | High Schools Secondary Education Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Mental Disorders, Children, Adolescents, High School Students, Grade Point Average, Academic Achievement, Achievement Tests, Scores, Course Selection (Students), College Attendance, Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Mexican Americans, Hispanic American Students, Personality, Individual Development, College Entrance Examinations, High School Graduates |
| Geographic Terms: | California, California (Sacramento) |
| DOI: | 10.1037/dev0002175 |
| ISSN: | 0012-1649 1939-0599 |
| Abstract: | School success is pivotal for minoritized youth from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds to achieve upward social mobility. Using data from the California Families Project, a longitudinal study of 674 Mexican-origin youth living in the United States, the present study examined the association between trajectories of psychiatric disorders from late childhood to adolescence and a wide range of high school outcomes assessed via school records. Psychiatric disorders were examined at different levels of breadth, including individual psychiatric disorders, internalizing symptoms, externalizing symptoms, and total symptoms. Results of latent growth curve models showed that youth exhibiting more overall psychiatric symptoms had lower high school grade point averages and achievement test scores, took fewer challenging courses during high school, and were less likely to attend college compared with youth exhibiting fewer symptoms. Counterintuitively, faster increases (or slower decreases) in psychiatric symptoms were associated with more positive school outcomes. These findings were similar for boys and girls and for youth born in the United States and Mexico. Incremental validity analyses showed that temperament levels were more robust predictors of school outcomes than psychiatric disorder levels. Developmentally, changes in temperament and psychiatric disorders independently predicted school outcomes. Overall, temperament levels and slopes had incremental validity over psychiatric disorder levels and slopes, suggesting that temperament may be a better target of intervention efforts to promote school success than psychiatric symptoms. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Notes: | https://osf.io/8ydqt/?view_only=8f1195a6e8cd45f88f498dd1be7945d8 |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1505728 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | School success is pivotal for minoritized youth from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds to achieve upward social mobility. Using data from the California Families Project, a longitudinal study of 674 Mexican-origin youth living in the United States, the present study examined the association between trajectories of psychiatric disorders from late childhood to adolescence and a wide range of high school outcomes assessed via school records. Psychiatric disorders were examined at different levels of breadth, including individual psychiatric disorders, internalizing symptoms, externalizing symptoms, and total symptoms. Results of latent growth curve models showed that youth exhibiting more overall psychiatric symptoms had lower high school grade point averages and achievement test scores, took fewer challenging courses during high school, and were less likely to attend college compared with youth exhibiting fewer symptoms. Counterintuitively, faster increases (or slower decreases) in psychiatric symptoms were associated with more positive school outcomes. These findings were similar for boys and girls and for youth born in the United States and Mexico. Incremental validity analyses showed that temperament levels were more robust predictors of school outcomes than psychiatric disorder levels. Developmentally, changes in temperament and psychiatric disorders independently predicted school outcomes. Overall, temperament levels and slopes had incremental validity over psychiatric disorder levels and slopes, suggesting that temperament may be a better target of intervention efforts to promote school success than psychiatric symptoms. |
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| ISSN: | 0012-1649 1939-0599 |
| DOI: | 10.1037/dev0002175 |
