LAUSR

Although symptoms of anxiety often coexist with symptoms of depression, little is known on how such coexistence affects youth's school experiences. OBJECTIVES We tested how the two types of behaviors, when coexisting, were associated with youth's negative attitude toward teachers, school, and poor peer relations. METHOD Data were collected from 203 ethnically and socioeconomically diverse youth (male: 24.6%; mean = 15.8 years, standard deviation = 2.4) with the 3rd edition of the Behavioral Assessment for Children: Self-Report of Personality. RESULTS Scores for symptoms of depression alone explained negative attitude toward teachers (β = .28; R2  = 17.88%), negative attitude toward school (β = .27; R2  = 14.74%), and poor peer relations (β = .42; R2  = 44.60%) as effectively as scores for both types of behaviors did. CONCLUSION The coexistence of symptoms of anxiety and depression did not appear to impair youth's attitude toward teachers, school and peer relations more than symptoms of depression did alone.