Adaptation During a Great Economic Recession: A Cohort Study of Greek and Immigrant Youth

This study examined how Greek and immigrant youth adapted to school life during the economic recession in Greece. Two cohorts of adolescents (M  = 12.6 years) were compared, one assessed before the crisis and the other during the crisis (N = 1,057 and 1,052, respectively). Cohort findings were disaggregated by immigrant status, generation, and ethnic group. Crisis-cohort youth experienced more economic problems, displayed worse conduct, higher levels of absenteeism, and lower self-efficacy than precrisis youth. The cohorts did not differ in well-being, school engagement, and academic achievement. Most crisis-cohort groups showed a pervasive increase in conduct problems compared to the precrisis cohort. However, some of these groups also showed an increase in academic achievement.