School-related stress and depression in adolescents with and without learning disabilities

Abstract

The present study examined school-related stress and depression in adolescents with and without learning disabilities. A total of 87 students (38 LD and 49 nondisabled) from secondary schools in the Calgary area completed self-report questionnaires on depressive symptoms and on school-related stress. Results from quantitative analyses revealed that adolescents with learning disabilities did not report significantly higher levels of depression than their nondisabled peers. In terms of school-related stress, adolescents with learning disabilities reported significantly higher levels of academic self-concept stress, but did not differ significantly from their nondisabled peers on peer interaction stress, teacher interaction stress, and academic stress. Significant, positive correlations between each of the school-related stress variables and depression were found for both the learning disabled and nondisabled groups. The results of ad hoc analyses are also presented and the theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.