Abstract
Evidence for the longitudinal associations between internalising symptom development and
academic attainment is sparse and results from existing studies are largely inconclusive.
The approaches that have been used in existing studies examining this relationship have in
common the limitation of grouping together all individuals in the sample which makes the assumption
that the relationship between time, symptoms and attainment across all individuals
is the same. The current study aimed to use heterogeneous trajectories of symptom
development to examine the longitudinal associations between internalising symptom development
and change in academic attainment over a three years period in early adolescence,
a key period for internalising symptom development. Internalising symptoms were
assessed for 3 consecutive years in a cohort from age 11–14 years (n = 2647, mean age at
T1 = 11.7 years). National standardised test scores prior to the first wave and subsequent to
the last wave were used as measures of academic attainment. Heterogeneous symptom
development trajectories were identified using latent class growth analysis and socio-demographic
correlates, such as gender, SES and ethnicity, of the different trajectory groupings
were investigated. Derived trajectory groupings were examined as predictors of subsequent
academic attainment, controlling for prior attainment. Results demonstrate that symptom
trajectories differentially predicted change in academic attainment with increasing trajectories
associated with significantly worse academic outcomes when compared to pupils with
low levels of symptoms in all waves. Hence, a trajectory based approach provides a more
nuanced breakdown of complexities in symptom development and their differential relationships
with academic outcomes and in doing so helps clarify the longitudinal relationship between
these two key domains of functioning in early adolescence.