Growth mindset and self-continuity: Further elucidation of the association between peer victimization and depressed affect in a Brazilian sample of early adolescents

• In Event: Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Topic - Social Relationships

Abstract

Rationale: Peer victimization is consistently associated with depressive symptoms during adolescence. Self-continuity, or the degree to which a person feels that they remain the same person over time regardless of how specific things about them or around them may change, buffers this association (Santo et al., 2018). Why self-continuity is may be protective however, is still poorly understood. This study was designed to replicate the moderating effect of self-continuity on the link between peer victimization and depressed affect. Moreover, we wanted to extend these findings by examining how having a growth mindset (i.e.: one’s attitudes toward positive change over time in their own innate abilities) mediates the association between self-continuity and depressed affect, using an adolescent sample from Brazil.

Method: Data were collected from 356 (171 boys) early adolescents (mean age = 12.49, S.D. = 1.49) in grades five through eight from two schools in Curitiba, Brazil. Youth reported on their depressed affect (single item: “I feel sad all the time”), peer victimization (e.g., “Others hit or kick me” α(4 items)= .81), self-continuity (e.g., I'm always the same person no matter how much I may change; α(6 items)= .74), and growth mindset (e.g., “Effort allows me to become more intelligent”, α(4 items)= .85). Analyses were conducted using structural equation modeling in M-Plus (ver. 7.11).

Results: A latent class analysis was used to identify self-continuity subgroups within the sample. A three-class solution provided the best fit to the data, with low (n = 50), average (n = 224) and high (n = 45) self-continuity groups. As expected, the association between peer victimization and depressed affect was significant and positive among the low (r = .33, p < .05) and the average (r = .18, p < .05) self-continuity groups but not in the high self-continuity group (r = .02, p > .05, see Figure 1).

As expected, self-continuity and depressed affect were negatively related (r = -.12, p < .05). We subsequently tested whether growth mindset indirectly accounted for part of the association between self-continuity and depressed affect (Figure 2). Not only was growth mindset positively related to self-continuity and negatively related to depressed affect but it also significantly indirectly explained some of the variance between the two (b(indirect) = -.05, 95% CI [-. 07, -.03], z = -2.09, p < .05). The resulting model was a good fit to the data (χ2(2) =1.12, p > .05, CFI = 1.00, RMSEA = .05, SRMR = .02).

Conclusions: Replicating previous work, self-continuity buffered the link between peer victimization and depressed affect. The most novel finding from the current study is the indirect effect of growth mindset on the association between peer self-continuity and depressed affect. Furthermore, growth mindset and self-continuity may be manifestations of a related overarching construct given that they are both negatively associated with depressed affect. Future analyses should delineate the potential bi-directional link between self-continuity and growth mindset.

Authors

• Dakota Schroll, University of Nebraska Omaha
  Presenting Author

• Alexa Martin-Storey, Universite de Sherbrooke
  Non-Presenting Author

• Holly E Recchia, Concordia University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Josafá M. Da Cunha, Federal University of Parana
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jonathan Bruce Santo, University of Nebraska - Omaha
  Non-Presenting Author