A longitudinal analysis of the relationships between students’ internalized symptoms and achievement goals

Previous research revealed that internalized symptoms of depression and anxiety are associated with

adolescents’ academic motivation. However, a gap remains regarding the longitudinal relationships

between students internalized symptoms and their motivational functioning. Using achievement goals to

conceptualize motivational functioning, this study examined the longitudinal relationships between

adolescents’ trajectories of achievement goals and their symptoms of depression and anxiety over a

6-year period. The sample included 762 students (55% girls) who completed an annual survey across

adolescence (M age at Time 1 11.80 years, SD 0.44). Growth curve analyses with time-varying

covariates revealed that an increase in students’ depression symptoms predicted a decrease in their

mastery goals, while an increase in their anxiety symptoms predicted an increase in their performance-

approach and avoidance goals. Results were robust when controlling for students’ gender, perceived

classroom goal structures, and age. These findings corroborate, from a longitudinal perspective, theo-

retical frameworks that linked student motivation and emotions, and emphasize the importance of

considering trajectories of adolescent symptoms of depression and anxiety in understanding their

motivational development across adolescence.