Professor studies youth and their grades

Jane McLeod, professor in the Department of Sociology, has shown that behavior problems, not depression, can cause lower grades.

“Behavior problems including attention issues, delinquency and substance use are associated with diminished achievement, but depression is not,” McLeod said in a press release. “Certainly, there are depressed youths who have trouble in school, but it’s likely because they are also using substances, engaging in delinquent activities or have attention issues.”

McLeod used information from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.

Ryotaro Uemura, a project assistant professor in the International Center at Keio University in Japan, and Shawna Rohrman, a doctoral candidate in sociology at IU, contributed.

— Sydney Murray