Depressive Symptomatology and Academic Achievement Among First-Year College Students: The Role of Effort Regulation

We conducted 2 studies to determine whether the relationship between depressive symptomatology and college GPA is mediated by effort regulation and to understand how depressive symptomatology upon entry to college affects students’ adjustment and academic achievement later in the first year of college. In Study 1, we found that the relationship between depressive symptomatology experienced in the first semester of college and first-year GPA was mediated by effort regulation. In Study 2, depressive symptomatology upon entry to college in the fall predicted increased depressive symptomatology in the spring semester, which, in turn, had a negative indirect effect on first-year GPA through effort regulation.