Teacher involvement was found to be an important protective factor against depression in elementary school students in a new study published in Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology.
Although depression is not very common among elementary school students early depressive symptoms should not be ignored. Depressive symptoms in elementary school were found to be a risk factor for developing depression in adolescence and adulthood in previous research. Timely intervention may significantly reduce the risk of developing major depressive disorder later on life.
Positive relationships with others are recognized as the major factor in determining children’s emotional and psychological well-being by fostering positive emotions, feelings of belonging, self-worth, and efficacy. Positive relationships with teachers are recognized to be of special importance for elementary school children as teachers serve as facilitators in overcoming social and academic challenges in the educational environment.
Building on the existing body of knowledge, a group of researchers headed by Jantine L. Spilt sought to examine the relationship between teacher involvement and depressive symptoms in 2nd and 3rd grade students. The study included 570 students and 30 teachers from 15 elementary schools in Belgium. During two school years, researchers assessed teacher involvement and students’ depressive symptoms in fall and in spring.
The results obtained in the present study indicate that teacher involvement serves as a protective factor against developing depression symptoms in students. Specifically, higher teacher involvement was associated with a decrease in students’ depressive symptoms from fall to spring. This finding is consistent with previous research and indicates that a positive relationship with the teacher has the potential for lessening depressive symptoms in elementary school students.
The researchers also analyzed how signs of depression in elementary school students influence teacher involvement. They found that depressive symptoms documented in fall predicted lower levels of teacher involvement documented during spring assessment. This suggests that teachers tend to be less involved with students whom they perceive as depressed which may be explained by social malfunctioning of a depressed child or by the fact that teachers find interaction with depressed students to be less enjoyable.
Although the study has several limitations, its’ findings shed light on the role teachers play in preventing depression in elementary school students.
The study, “Teacher Involvement Prevents Increases in Children’s Depressive Symptoms: Bidirectional Associations in Elementary School“, was authored by Jantine L. Spilt, Geertje Leflot, and Hilde Colpin.
