In the current study, we followed motivational theories and investigated whether granting junior high school students one more opportunity to take the high-stakes high school entrance exam alleviates students’ depressive symptoms, and whether the effect is comparable for adolescent boys and girls residing in Taiwan. We analyzed two longitudinal datasets (seventh to tenth grade) from two neighboring cohorts, in which one cohort could take the exam just once (i.e., the pre-reform cohort) and the other twice (i.e., the post-reform cohort). Using a lagged-dependent-variable difference-in-differences model to compare the level of depressive symptoms before and after the entrance exam for the two cohorts, the results revealed that the reform was associated with increases in the level of depressive symptoms for both boys and girls. Despite a higher level of depressive symptoms overall, adolescent girls in the post-reform cohort showed a slower increase in the level of depressive symptoms than boys.
Angrist, J. D., & Pischke, J.-S. (2010). The credibility revolution in empirical economics: How better research design is taking the con out of econometrics. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 24(2), 3–30. http://doi.org/10.1257/jep.24.2.3
2.
BeyersW.GoossensL. (1999).
Emotional autonomy, psychosocial adjustment and parenting: Interactions, moderating and mediating effects.Journal of Adolescence,
22(6), 753–769. doi:10.1006/jado.1999.0268
3.
Chen, T.-Y., Chou, Y.-C., Tzeng, N.-S., Chang, H.-A., Kuo, S.-C., Pan, P.-Y., Yeh, Y.-W., Yeh, C.-B., & Mao, W.-C. (2015). Effects of a selective educational system on fatigue, sleep problems, daytime sleepiness, and depression among senior high school adolescents in Taiwan. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 11, 741–750. http://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S77179
4.
ColeD. A.Nolen-HoeksemaS.GirgusJ.PaulG. (2006).
Stress exposure and stress generation in child and adolescent depression: A latent trait-state-error approach to longitudinal analyses.Journal of Abnormal Psychology,
115(1), 40–51. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.115.1.40
5.
College Board. (1998). Score change when retaking the SAT I: Reasoning test.
6.
ConleyC. S.RudolphK. D. (2009).
The emerging sex difference in adolescent depression: Interacting contributions of puberty and peer stress.Development and Psychopathology,
21(2), 593–620. doi:10.1017/S0954579409000327
7.
Cornell, D. G., Krosnick, J. A., & Chang, L. (2006). Student reactions to being wrongly informed of failing a high-stakes test: The case of the Minnesota Basic Standards Test. Educational Policy, 20(5), 718–751. http://doi.org/10.1177/0895904805284123
8.
CrosnoeR.BennerA. D. (2016). Educational pathways. In ShanahanM. J.MortimerJ. T.JohnsonM. K. (Eds.), Handbook of the life course (Vol.
II, pp. 179–200).
Springer International Publishing. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-20880-0_8
9.
CrystalD. S.ChenC.FuligniA. J.StevensonH. W.HsuC.-C.KoH.-J.Kitamura, S., & Kimura, S. (1994).
Psychological maladjustment and academic achievement: A cross-cultural study of Japanese, Chinese, and American high school students. Child Development,
65(3), 738–753. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1994.tb00780.x
10.
CuartasJ.McCoyD. C.Grogan-KaylorA.GershoffE. (2020).
Physical punishment as a predictor of early cognitive development: Evidence from econometric approaches.Developmental Psychology,
56(11), 2013–2026. doi:10.1037/dev0001114
11.
DerogatisL. R. (1983). SCL-90-R administration, scoring, and procedure manual-II. Clinical Psychometric Research.
12.
DeschachtN.GoemanK. (2015).
The effect of blended learning on course persistence and performance of adult learners: A difference-in-differences analysis. Computers & Education,
87(C), 83–89. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2015.03.020
13.
EcclesJ. S.WigfieldA. (2002).
Motivational beliefs, values, and goals.Annual Review of Psychology,
53(1), 109–132. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135153
14.
FlakeJ. K.BarronK. E.HullemanC.McCoachB. D.WelshM. E. (2015).
Measuring cost: The forgotten component of expectancy-value theory.Contemporary Educational Psychology,
41(C), 232–244. doi:10.1016/j.cedpsych.2015.03.002
15.
FosterE. M. (2010).
Causal inference and developmental psychology.Developmental Psychology,
46, 1454–1480. doi:10.1037/a0020204 doi:10.1037/a0020204
16.
GarberJ.KeileyM. K.MartinN. C. (2002).
Developmental trajectories of adolescents' depressive symptoms: Predictors of change. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
70(1), 79–95. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.70.1.79
17.
GeX.LorenzF. O.CongerR. D.ElderG. H.SimonsR. L. (1994).
Trajectories of stressful life events and depressive symptoms during adolescence. Developmental Psychology,
30(4), 467–483. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.30.4.467
18.
GneezyU.RustichiniA. (2004).
Gender and competition at a young age. American Economic Review,
94(2), 377–381. doi:10.1257/0002828041301821
19.
GoodmanJ.GurantzO.SmithJ. (2018). Take two! SAT retaking and college enrollment gaps (NBER working paper 24945). National Bureau of Economic Research. doi:10.3386/w24945
20.
HankinB. L.MermelsteinR.RoeschL. (2007).
Sex differences in adolescent depression: Stress exposure and reactivity models.Child Development,
78(1), 279–295. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.00997.x
21.
HishinumaE. S.ChangJ. Y.McArdleJ. J.HamagamiF. (2012).
Potential causal relationship between depressive symptoms and academic achievement in the Hawaiian high schools health survey using contemporary longitudinal latent variable change models.Developmental Psychology,
48(5), 1327–1342. doi:10.1037/a0026978
22.
HuangF.-M.ChienY. N., (2013). Working, schooling and psychological well-being: Evidence from longitudinal data for Taiwanese youth. In YiC. C. (Ed.), Psychological well-being of East Asian youth: Transition from early adolescence to young adulthood (pp. 212–237).
Springer. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-4081-5_9
23.
JurajdaŠ.MünichD. (2011).
Gender gap in performance under competitive pressure: Admissions to Czech universities. The American Economic Review,
101(3), 514–518. doi:10.1257/aer.101.3.514
24.
KrishnaK.LychaginS.FrisanchoV. (2018).
Retaking in high stakes exams: Is less more?International Economic Review,
59(2), 449–477. doi:10.1111/iere.12276
25.
LeeM.LarsonR. (2000).
The Korean “examination hell”: Long hours of studying, distress, and depression. Journal of Youth and Adolescence,
29(2), 249–271. doi:10.1023/A:1005160717081
26.
LiH.ZhangY. (2008).
Factors predicting rural Chinese adolescents' anxieties, fears and depression. School Psychology International,
29(3), 376–384. doi:10.1177/0143034308093676
27.
LinH.-C.TangT.-C.YenJ.-Y.KoC.-H.HuangC.-F.LiuS.-C.YenC.-F. (2008).
Depression and its association with self-esteem, family, peer and school factors in a population of 9586 adolescents in southern Taiwan.Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences,
62(4), 412–420. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1819.2008.01820.x
28.
MerikangasK. R.HeJ.-P.BursteinM.SwansonS. A.AvenevoliS.CuiL.Cui, L., Benjet, C., Georgiades, K., & Swendsen, J. (2010).
Lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in U.S. adolescents: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication-Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A).Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry,
49(10), 980–989. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2010.05.017
29.
Ministry of Interior Affairs, Taiwan. (2003). Summary of physical and psychological well-being survey of youth in Taiwan in 2003. http://www.moi.gov.tw/stat/survey.aspx
30.
Morin, L.-P. (2015). Do men and women respond differently to competition? Evidence from a major education reform. Journal of Labor Economics, 33(2), 443–491. http://doi.org/10.1086/678519
31.
NguyenD. T.DeddingC.PhamT. T.WrightP.BundersJ. (2013).
Depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among Vietnamese secondary school students and proposed solutions: A cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health13, 1195(2013). doi:10.1186/1471-2458-13-1195
32.
OrsE.PalominoF.PeyracheE. (2013).
Performance gender gap: Does competition matter?Journal of Labor Economics,
31(3), 443–499. doi:10.1086/669331
33.
ParkJ. Y.ChungI. J. (2014).
Adolescent suicide triggered by problems at school in Korea: Analyses focusing on depression, suicidal ideation, plan, and attempts as four dimensions of suicide. Child Indicators Research,
7(1), 75–88. doi:10.1007/s12187-013-9197-3
34.
PerezT.CromleyJ. G.KaplanA. (2014).
The role of identity development, values, and costs in college STEM retention. Journal of Educational Psychology,
106(1), 315–329. doi:10.1037/a0034027
35.
PriceJ. (2008).
Gender differences in the response to competition. ILR Review,
61(3), 320–333. doi:10.1177/001979390806100303
36.
RosenzweigE. Q.WigfieldA.HullemanC. S. (2020).
More useful or not so bad? Examining the effects of utility value and cost reduction interventions in college physics. Journal of Educational Psychology,
112(1), 166–182. doi:10.1037/edu0000370
37.
RyanR. M.DeciE. L. (2000).
Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist,
55(1), 68–78. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68
38.
SalkR. H.HydeJ. S.AbramsL. Y. (2017).
Gender differences in depression in representative national samples: Meta-analyses of diagnoses and symptoms.Psychological Bulletin,
143(8), 783–822. doi:10.1037/bul0000102
39.
StrongC.TsaiM.-C.LinC.-Y.ChengC.-P. (2016).
Childhood adversity, timing of puberty and adolescent depressive symptoms: A longitudinal study in Taiwan. Child Psychiatry and Human Development,
47(3), 347–357. doi:10.1007/s10578-015-0570-y
40.
VigdorJ. L.ClotfelterC. T. (2003).
Retaking the SAT. Journal of Human Resources,
38(1), 1–33. doi:10.3368/jhr.XXXVIII.1.1
41.
WangY.-C. L.ChanH.-Y.ChenP.-C. (2018).
Transitions of developmental trajectories of depressive symptoms between junior and senior high school among youths in Taiwan: Linkages to symptoms in young adulthood.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology,
46(8), 1687–1704. doi:10.1007/s10802-018-0408-8
42.
WangY.-C. L.ChanH.-Y.LiC.-R.LinC.-W. (2015).
Association of parental warmth and harsh discipline with developmental trajectories of depressive symptoms among adolescents in Chinese society.Journal of Family Psychology,
29(6), 895–906. doi:10.1037/a0039505
43.
WeiC.-F. (2008).
Influences of adolescent's mental health: A longitudinal study [In Chinese]. Journal of Health Science,
10(4), 251–266.
44.
WeisM.HeikampT.TrommsdorffG. (2013).
Gender differences in school achievement: The role of self-regulation.Frontiers in Psychology,
4, 442.
45.
Wu, C.-I. (2007). The interlocking trajectories between negative parenting practices and adolescent depressive symptoms. Current Psychology, 55(4), 579–597. http://doi.org/10.1177/0011392107077640
46.
YiC.-C.WuC.-I.ChangY.-H.ChangM.-Y. (2009).
The psychological well-being of Taiwanese youth: School versus family context from early to late adolescence. International Sociology,
24(3), 397–429. doi:10.1177/0268580909102914
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
