Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Department of Psychology and GeroCenter, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
J Adolesc. 2023 Jul;95(5):990-1004. doi: 10.1002/jad.12169. Epub 2023 Apr 10.
Relatively little is known about individual differences in adolescent psychological flexibility and its associations with symptoms of stress and depression. This study examined different profiles of adolescent stress and depressive symptoms and their associations with developing psychological flexibility before the critical educational transition.
The data were derived from a general sample of 740 Finnish ninth-grade adolescents (M = 15.7 years, 57% female) who were assessed twice during the final grade of their basic education. The data were analyzed using growth mixture modeling.
Four profiles of stress and depressive symptoms were identified during a school year: (1) no stress and no depressive symptoms (None; 69%); (2) mild and decreasing stress and depressive symptoms (Decreasing; 15%); (3) low but increasing stress and depressive symptoms (Increasing; 6%); and (4) high and stable levels of stress and depressive symptoms (High; 10%). The adolescents in these profiles differed from each other in their initial levels and changes of psychological flexibility. The initial level of psychological flexibility was highest in the no-symptom profile group. We observed simultaneous change trends in symptoms and psychological flexibility during a school year. When symptoms decreased, psychological flexibility increased, and when symptoms increased, psychological flexibility decreased.
A bidirectional pattern of relationships between psychological flexibility and psychological symptoms was found. Despite initially high level of skills in psychological flexibility, some adolescents, unexpectedly, experienced increased symptoms of stress and depression during the school year. The results call for further studies to explore in-depth the developmental diversity in adolescents' well-being and its antecedents.
青少年心理灵活性的个体差异及其与压力和抑郁症状的关系知之甚少。本研究考察了青少年压力和抑郁症状的不同模式及其与关键教育过渡前发展心理灵活性的关系。
数据来自芬兰 740 名九年级青少年（M=15.7 岁，57%为女性）的一般样本，他们在基础教育的最后一学年中接受了两次评估。使用增长混合模型对数据进行分析。
在一学年内确定了四种压力和抑郁症状的模式：（1）无压力和无抑郁症状（无；69%）；（2）压力和抑郁症状逐渐减轻（减少；15%）；（3）压力和抑郁症状虽低但逐渐增加（增加；6%）；（4）压力和抑郁症状高且稳定（高；10%）。这些模式中的青少年在心理灵活性的初始水平和变化上存在差异。无症状组的心理灵活性初始水平最高。我们观察到一学年中症状和心理灵活性同时发生变化的趋势。当症状减轻时，心理灵活性增加，而当症状增加时，心理灵活性则降低。
发现心理灵活性与心理症状之间存在双向关系模式。尽管青少年最初具有较高水平的心理灵活性技能，但有些青少年在学年期间出人意料地经历了压力和抑郁症状的增加。结果呼吁进一步研究深入探讨青少年幸福感及其前因的发展多样性。
