Problems In School Exacerbate Problems At Home

While family problems are likely to drastically disrupt academic performance, recent findings reveal that the same is also true when reversed. Researchers found that problems at school are also likely to cause or exacerbate issues at home.

"Spillover processes have been recognized but are not well understood," said researchers Adela C. Timmons, a doctoral student, and Gayla Margolin, professor of psychology, both at the University of Southern California, in a new release. "Evidence of spillover for as long as two days suggests that some teens get caught in a reverberating cycle of negative events."

For the study, researchers examined how school problems can spill over into the household, too; this included issues with doing poorly on a quiz or test, cutting class, not finishing schoolwork or having difficult understanding certain subject matter.

About 100 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 were involved in the study, in which their parents were asked to complete a questionnaire at the end of each day for two weeks. All participants and families represented a wide range of ethnicities, income levels and races, as well.

Findings revealed that a teens' negative attitude could harm other aspects of his or her life as well. Furthermore, the study showed that teens with mental health issues were significantly affected by negative moods, that could worsen and pre-existing problems at home or in school.

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal Child Development.