Grades and class rankings have always been known to cause negative effects on adolescents’ psychological well-being. But utilizing the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health data, Professor Kim Jinho (Korea University, School of Health Policy and Management) and Professor Ran Liu (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Educational Policy Studies) have discovered that the relationship between class rankings and depressive symptoms are not linear, as previously supposed, but rather, non-linear, with the effects being the strongest on the very top and bottom ranking students, and a relatively insignificant effect on middle-ranking students. The study was published in the journal Social Science Research on February 8, 2023.

The mechanisms through which ability ranks influence mental health proved to be the opposite for lower-ranking and higher-ranking students; for the bottom-ranking students, low self-efficacy and self-esteem led to depressive symptoms, whereas for highest-ranking students, high self-efficacy and self-esteem led to the decreased risk of depressive symptoms. Professor Kim highlighted the significance of the study, commenting on the need for policies that can supply psychological resources that could help alleviate the depressive symptoms of bottom-ranking students by helping increase their self-efficacy and self-esteem.