The effect of stress on depression, school adjustment, and academic achievement in adolescents using community child care center: The moderating effect of social support

The primary purpose of the current study was to examine the moderating effect of social support in the effect of stress on depression, school adjustment, and academic achievement in adolescents who use a community child care center across two years. We assumed parents, peers and center teachers as meaningful others of adolescents. For this purpose, 282 children who participated in the fifth (2015) questionnaire in the fourth grade (2014) and the second grade of middle school in the 1st child panel of the community child care center were used for the analysis. The results of the analysis are as follows. First, stress increased the degree of depression, but the degree of depression was negatively predicted by perceived social support from parents and peers. Second, stress negatively predicted school adjustment, while perceived support from parents, peers and center teachers positively predicted school adjustment. In particular, the interaction effect between stress and perceived support from parents, meaning that parents’ support can buffer the effect of stress on school adjustment. Third, perceived support from center teachers positively predicted academic achievement. The results of this study suggest that long-term observational research is needed to observe the emotional, social and cognitive aspects of adolescents using community child care center. At the same time, this study is meaningful in that the center teacher s social support plays an important role in predicting academic achievement.