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Background: Adolescent depression has been recognized as a complex problem that presents a global public health challenge. Left undetected and untreated, depression can significantly reduce quality of life. Objective: The main purpose of this paper is to re-visit risk and protective factors for depression in adolescents with a specific focus on exploring the individual, familial, and social contexts of depression (especially high and very high depression levels) in a multi-country sample of youth in order to see if these factors are mitigated by cultural location. Methods: Questionnaire data from a cross-sectional study of a randomly selected sample of 5149 middle-school students from four EU-countries (Austria, Germany, Slovenia, and Spain) was used. Applying variance analysis, we examined the prediction strength for the observed risk and protective factors. Results: In all participating countries we show that in for both male and female adolescents, depression is linked to a broad range of interactive individual, and social protective and risk factors, such that even if the contribution of a single factor is low but still significant and this factor's prediction strength is low or moderate, taken together, the cumulative prediction strength of these factors yields a remarkably similar coefficient of determination of 42-49% in all samples. Conclusions: We have established a significant and relevant combination of the individual and social multifactorial risk and protective factors that characterize depression in adolescents of both genders, no matter their country of location and with that, we call for a multifaceted and comprehensive approach to mental health assessment, prevention and intervention.

Background: Adolescent depression has been recognized as a complex problem that presents a global public health challenge. Left undetected and untreated, depression can significantly reduce quality of life. Objective: The main purpose of this paper is to re-visit risk and protective factors for depression in adolescents with a specific focus on exploring the individual, familial, and social contexts of depression (especially high and very high depression levels) in a multi-country sample of youth in order to see if these factors are mitigated by cultural location. Methods: Questionnaire data from a cross-sectional study of a randomly selected sample of 5149 middle-school students from four EU-countries (Austria, Germany, Slovenia, and Spain) was used. Applying variance analysis, we examined the prediction strength for the observed risk and protective factors. Results: In all participating countries we show that in for both male and female adolescents, depression is linked to a broad range of interactive individual, and social protective and risk factors, such that even if the contribution of a single factor is low but still significant and this factor's prediction strength is low or moderate, taken together, the cumulative prediction strength of these factors yields a remarkably similar coefficient of determination of 42-49% in all samples. Conclusions: We have established a significant and relevant combination of the individual and social multifactorial risk and protective factors that characterize depression in adolescents of both genders, no matter their country of location and with that, we call for a multifaceted and comprehensive approach to mental health assessment, prevention and intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research on test anxiety of elementary school children has mainly focused on prevalence rates and gender differences. Less work has addressed predictors of test anxiety in elementary school children. According to the control-value theory developed by Pekrun (Educ Psychol Rev 18:315-341. doi:, 2006), academic self-concept and interest can be seen as such predictors. Objective: Based upon a control-value theory approach, the major objective of the present study is to examine the relationships between academic self-concept, interest, and text anxiety in elementary school children. A second aim is to explore moderating effects of gender for these relationships. Methods: 192 fourth graders aged 7-11 years from 11 classes across six schools completed a modified version of the German Self-Description Questionnaire 1 and a subscale of trait anxiety from the Anxiety Questionnaire for Students (German version). Self-concept and interest ratings were assumed to be negatively related to test anxiety. Gender was hypothesized as a moderator of the relationships between academic self-concept, interest, and test anxiety. Results: Children with a lower academic self-concept were more likely to be affected by test anxiety, and girls were more likely to be exposed to test anxiety than boys. Interest, in contrast, was not related to test anxiety and had no impact on test anxiety. Conclusion: The findings of the current research provided evidence that high test anxiety could be explained by a lower academic self-concept of elementary school children. Thus, school-based intervention programs targeting to decrease test anxiety of elementary school children should pay more attention to increasing students' academic self-concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]