An investigation of depression and psychological features in part-time high school adolescents

Abstract

Part-time high schools (PT-HS) are a special school arrangement for adolescents with difficulties, such as financial problems that prevent them from attending full-time high schools (FT-HS). Recent research has indicated that adolescents attending PT-HS may have excessive self-denying thoughts, lower interpersonal skills, and/or mental health problems. However, little research has been conducted on the psychological features of adolescents in PT-HS. This study investigated self-denying thoughts; such as cognitive distortions, interpersonal skills; such as social skills, and mental health problems; such as depression, among adolescents attending PT-HS. Adolescents (N=250) attending two PT-HSs and two FT-HSs were compared. Results indicated that adolescents attending PT-HS were more likely to have poor socials skills, such as increased difficulty in starting and maintaining relationships, compared to adolescents attending FT-HS. The results of this study indicate the need for psychological support for improving the social skills of adolescents attending PT-HS.