The study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, did not show any link for boys between academic, behavior or social problems and depression at age 21.

"For girls there are broader implications of school failure," lead author Carolyn McCarty of the University of Washington said in a statement. "We already know that it leads to more poverty, higher rates of being on public assistance and lower rates of job stability. And now this study shows it is having mental health implications for girls."

The study showed that girls who were expelled from school were more than twice as likely to suffer depression -- 44 percent compared to 20 percent of girls who were not expelled. Thirty-three percent of the girls who dropped out of school later became depressed compared to 19 percent who were not dropouts. Twenty-eight percent of the girls who were suspended later suffered depression compared to 19 percent of girls who weren't suspended.

"This gender paradox shows that while school failure is more atypical for girls it appears to have more severe consequences when it does occur," McCarty says.