Theories of Intelligence and Academic Self-Efficacy in American Indian Youth

This study will examine possible direct and indirect relationships between theory of intelligence, goal orientation and depressive symptoms in American Indian (AI) youth. The sample will include 197 American Indian youth attending grades 7-12 on reservations in the northern plains of the U.S. and Alaska. This study will use self-report surveys, collected as part of a longitudinal study, to measure theory of intelligence, goal orientation, and depressive symptoms. It is hypothesized that an incremental theory of intelligence and a learning goal orientation will be negatively correlated with depressive symptoms. In addition, goal orientation is predicted to moderate the relation between theory of intelligence and depressive symptoms. If goal orientation moderates the relation between theories of intelligence and depression, this implies that depression can be changed by altering theories of intelligence to include learning goals and this can be used in intervention programs for populations at high-risk for depression.