Development of a Structural Equation Model to Estimate the School Adjustment of Depressive Adolescents with a Focus on Protective Factors

This study was designed to construct a structural equation model to estimate school adjustment in depressive middle school students in Korea. The subjects consisted of 274 depressive adolescents. The data were analyzed using the SPSS 18.0 and AMOS 18.0 programs to test the structural equation model. School protective factors showed a direct effect on school adjustment for depressive adolescents, whereas relational protective factors, personal protective factors, and community protective factors showed an indirect effect. These factors explained 81.3% of the total variance. The result of the study provides practical information for teachers, parents, school principals, and other people who are interested in improving depressive adolescents’ school adjustment. Through the results of this study, researchers suggest that the school adjustment of depressive adolescent can be increased by strengthening school, relational, personal, and community protective factors.