Correlates Among Self-Concept, Anxiety, Depression, Anger, and Disruptive Behavior in Vulnerable Middle School Youth

Purpose: Adolescents from urban and rural environments are viewed differently when considering their vulnerability to stressors and adaptive versus maladaptive coping. Understanding the differences and similarities in the baseline variables can assist in guiding interventions. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationships among self-concept, anxiety, depression, anger, and disruptive behavior in middle school-aged students from two middle schools.  At baseline, 45% of the urban middle school participants demonstrated elevated anxiety, 26% had depressive symptomatology, and 26% had below average self-concept. At baseline, 25% of the rural middle school participants’ demonstrated anxiety, 21% had depressive symptomatology, and 25% had below average self-concept.

Methods: A descriptive correlation design was used for this study. Students from two middle schools in the Midwest were recruited to participate (N=53).

Results: Correlations were examined at baseline among the study variables for each set of participants. Negative and significant correlations (p=.01) existed between the participants’ self-concept and depression, self-concept and anxiety, self-concept and anger, and self-concept and disruptive behavior. As the student’s self-concept decreased their anxiety, depressive symptoms, anger, and disruptive behavior increased. These same findings were found in the urban and rural student groups for the same variables. Additionally, positive and significant correlations existed between depression and anxiety, depression and anger, and anxiety and anger in both groups. This suggested that as the student’s depressive symptoms increased so does the student’s anxiety and anger. Furthermore, as the student’s anxiety increased so does the anger.

Conclusion: The middle school years are often stressful for students, especially for youth who are from underserved areas and subject to health disparities. Understanding similarities in baseline correlations among students who are similar can guide behavior interventions to improve healthy lifestyle choices and healthy lifestyle behaviors in middle schoolers. This study underlines the similarities in vulnerable youth populations which appear dissimilar and supports the promising potential to improve mental health outcomes (e.g., anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation), improved self-concept and decreased maladaptive coping for anger and disruptive behavior through behavior interventions for youth in real-world school settings.