Demystifying Girls’ Concurrence of Higher Educational Achievement and Higher Depression Levels: Evidence from the China Education Panel Survey

Girls’ concurrence of higher educational achievement and higher depression levels seems incompatible with the negative correlation between educational achievement and depression. This seeming paradox suggests a disconnect between various lines of literature, as well as hidden gender disparities. This study proposes a framework of five correlation patterns to accommodate this seeming incompatibility. As an application and test of this framework, this study analyzes two waves of data from the China Education Panel Survey. The framework of five correlation patterns can also be adapted to investigate other forms of inequality.