Symptoms of depression and the individual expression of learned helplessness can differ between adolescents and have a varying impact on their emotions, thoughts, behaviour, relationships, and academic achievement. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of gender and academic achievement on depression and learned helplessness, and how being in a romantic relationship affects the degree of expression of depressive symptoms. We examined the relationship between depression and learned helplessness, and which school subjects induce most helplessness in adolescents. Two questionnaires (Coping Competence Questionnaire (CCQ) and The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D)) were administered to a sample of 297 students, aged between 16 and 18 years. The results showed a significant positive relationship between depression and learned helplessness. We found that girls suffer more frequently from depressive symptoms and learned helplessness than boys, while adolescents with higher school grades are less depressed than academically unsuccessful adolescents. Adolescents in relationships do not differ in reporting about symptoms of depression from those who are single. Boys with lower grades experience helplessness more often than academically more successful boys while the opposite is true for girls. Girls with higher grades exhibit more learned helplessness than academically unsuccessful girls. Further results showed that adolescents feel the most helpless at Slovenian, physics and mathematics, followed by German, chemistry, biology and English. They feel the least helpless at music, history, sport, art and geography.
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