How do Parent-Teacher Reporting Patterns Predict Adolescent Depression and School Problems? A Response Surface Analysis

Background: Multi-informant assessments are central to adolescent mental health screening. However, parent and teacher reports are only moderately correlated. Understanding cross-contextual reporting patterns can help identify adolescent mental health and functioning problems. Methods: Using data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study (N = 6,366), we examined parent- and teacher-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) scores (emotional, conduct, hyperactivity, and peer problems; prosocial behavior) at age 11 as predictors of adolescent-reported depressive symptoms and school problems at ages 11 and 14. Response surface analysis was used to model reporting congruence and discrepancies, controlling for gender, ethnicity, and baseline outcomes in prospective analyses. Results: Parent reports were more consistent predictors of outcomes than teacher reports, yet teacher reports also contributed unique variance. Convergent reporting of higher SDQ scores predicted elevated depressive symptoms and school problems concurrently for all subscales and outcomes, but was less consistent prospectively. Yet discrepancies were also important. When parent-reported hyperactivity and prosociality exceeded teacher reports, adolescents reported higher concurrent depressive symptoms. These hyperactivity reporting discrepancies also predicted depressive symptoms at age 14. Conversely, when teacher ratings exceeded parent ratings of conduct problems, this predicted school problems at age 11. Conclusions: Overall, high parent-teacher concordance appears to signal persistent difficulties, while discrepancies may indicate emotional or school-specific challenges. While overall effect sizes were modest, both informants appear to provide complementary information, supporting multi-informant assessment to guide early identification and context-sensitive interventions.