Feelings of depression in late elementary school and high school, for children who ended up in three different high school crowds: In this “follow-back” study, researchers tested children in grades four and six and then looked at their depression levels in high school and explored their particular high school crowds. Notice that the boys and girls in the high-status “popular” and “jocks” crowds became happier during high school. The children destined to be in the “brains” crowd felt happiest during elementary school. The teens who became “burnouts” were more depressed than any other group both in late elementary school and in high school. If you remember being in one of these high school crowds, how do these findings relate to your feelings in elementary school versus high school?

Data from: Prinstein & La Greca, 2002, p. 340.