engleski

Economic strain and adolescent risky and antisocial behavior: The role of depression and school engagement

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the economic strain is related to risky and antisocial behavior in adolescents and whether this relationship is mediated by their depression and school engagement. Data from this cross-sectional study were collected in 2016 from a sample of 177 students (66 boys) with a mean age of 15.21 years (SD=1.69). Adolescents self-reported their risky and antisocial behaviors, experience of economic strain, level of depression, and school engagement. Structural equation modeling results showed that higher levels of economic strain is associated with more diverse risky and antisocial behaviors. It was also shown that there were two significant mechanisms between economic strain and risky and antisocial behavior, one mediated by depression and the second mediated by depression and school engagement. While economic strain and risky and antisocial behavior have been shown to be linked through increased depression, the latter serial mediation also shows that greater economic strain is associated with increased depression, which in turn is associated with poorer school engagement, which in turn is associated with more diverse risky and antisocial behavior. These findings have implications for further testing and development of general strain theory, one of the best- known theories of antisocial behavior.

economic strain ; depression ; school engagement ; risky behavior ; antisocial behavior

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