School connectedness and the primary to secondary school transition for young people with autism spectrum conditions

BACKGROUND

Young people with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) face many educational challenges, particularly in terms of academic achievement, social inclusion, and mental health. School connectedness is linked to many positive outcomes and may be of particular salience at the primary-secondary school transition, when young people with ASC are expected to cope in new and unfamiliar settings.

AIMS

This study explores for the first time school connectedness across the primary to secondary school transition for young people with ASC.

SAMPLE

Twenty-eight students with ASC (23 male, five female) and a comparison group of 21 students with no additional needs (16 male, five female) participated.

METHODS

A longitudinal design was used to measure school connectedness across transition at four time-points from the end of primary school, into the first and second years of secondary school. Students completed the Psychological Sense of School Membership (Goodenow, 1993, Psychology in the Schools, 30, 79) questionnaire at each time-point, with responses analysed statistically.

RESULTS

Students with ASC reported positive levels of school connectedness across transition, although their scores remained lower than those of their typically developing peers. The gap between the two groups narrowed significantly during the first year of secondary school, with students in the ASC group reporting improving levels of school connectedness, although there were non-significant signs of a decline for both groups in the second year.

CONCLUSIONS

Transition can be a positive experience for students with ASC. However, their consistently lower levels of school connectedness compared to those of their peers highlight the need for ongoing monitoring and support during secondary education.

A Multilevel, Statewide Investigation of School District Anti-Bullying Policy Quality and Student Bullying Involvement

BACKGROUND

Although nearly all states in the United States require school districts to adopt anti-bullying policies, little research examines the effect of these policies on student bullying and health. Using a statewide sample, we investigated associations between the quality of school district anti-bullying policies and student bullying involvement and adjustment.

METHODS

School district anti-bullying policies (N = 208) were coded for their quality based on established criteria. District-level data were combined with student reports of bullying involvement, emotional distress, and school connectedness from a state surveillance survey of 6th, 9th, and 12th grade students (N = 93,437).

RESULTS

Results indicated that policy quality was positively related to bullying victimization. Furthermore, students reporting frequent perpetration/victimization who also attended districts with high-quality policies reported more emotional distress and less school connectedness compared with students attending districts with low quality policies. Although statistically significant, the magnitude of these associations was small.

CONCLUSIONS

Having a high-quality school district anti-bullying policy is not sufficient to reduce bullying and protect bullying-involved young people. Future studies examining policy implementation will inform best practices in bullying prevention.

School Factors and Alcohol Use: The Moderating Effect of Nativity in a National Sample of Latino Adolescents

BACKGROUND

School is an important developmental context for adolescents and may be related to adolescent alcohol use. Less is known as to whether the relationships between school factors and alcohol use differ between Latino youth born outside of the United States versus those born in the United States.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to test nativity as a moderator of the relationship between school factors and alcohol use among Latino adolescents.

METHODS

This study used data from Waves I and II of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to test nativity as a moderator of the relationship between school factors and alcohol use in a subsample of Latino adolescents.

RESULTS

Results found that during adolescence, nativity moderates the relationship between school connectedness and Wave I alcohol use. For those born outside of the United States, school connectedness was not related to alcohol use. Significant main effects emerged for grades in school and truancy. Better grades were associated with less alcohol use, while truancy was associated with greater alcohol use. The longitudinal relationships between school factors and Wave II alcohol use were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

School connectedness is a contemporaneous risk factor for alcohol use among those born in the United States. Prevention efforts that address school contextual factors may be important for all Latino students to reduce engagement in alcohol use and optimize well-being.

The role of parental and peer attachment relationships and school connectedness in predicting adolescent mental health outcomes

BACKGROUND

Adolescent attachment relationships with parents and peers and the sense of connectedness with the schools attended have been established as salient predictors of psychological well-being. Few studies, however, have assessed the relative importance of each attachment or connectedness relationship and how they interrelate to influence mental health outcomes.

METHOD

A total of 203 adolescents (11-16 years) completed self-report measures of parental and peer attachment (Inventory of Parental & Peer Attachment - Revised; Gullone & Robinson, ); school connectedness (Psychological Sense of School Membership; Goodenow, ); conduct problems, emotional symptoms and prosocial behaviour (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; Goodman, ).

RESULTS

Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that more insecure parental attachment (although not peer attachment or school connectedness) predicted conduct problems and emotional difficulties. Peer attachment and school connectedness were significant predictors of prosocial behaviour, whereas parental attachment was not. A mediational analysis revealed that peer attachment and school connectedness both mediate the relationship between parental attachment and prosocial behaviour. No significant moderation effects of either peer attachment or school connectedness on the relationship between parental attachment and mental health outcomes were found.

CONCLUSIONS

Different attachment and connectedness relationships, although related, predict adolescent mental health outcomes in distinct ways. Improving parental attachment may have particular salience in reducing negative behaviours such as conduct problems and emotional difficulties, whereas improving peer attachment and school connectedness could be important for the display of prosocial behaviour.

Associations of School Connectedness With Adolescent Suicidality: Gender Differences and the Role of Risk of Depression

OBJECTIVE

Previous studies have not examined associations of school connectedness with adolescent suicidal behaviours stratified by gender, while including a measure of depression. We analyzed survey data to determine whether there are independent protective associations of higher school connectedness with suicidal behaviours in Canadian adolescents, while controlling for potential confounders, including risk of depression; and whether such associations differ by gender.

METHOD

Using data from a stratified cluster sample of randomly selected classes of students in schools in 3 of Canada's Atlantic provinces, we used multiple logistic regression to examine whether associations of risk of depression, measured using the 12-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale, lessened protective associations of higher school connectedness with suicidal behaviours in grades 10 and 12 students, while stratifying by gender.

RESULTS

After adjusting for risk of depression, higher school connectedness was independently associated with decreased suicidal ideation in both genders and with suicidal attempt in females. In males, higher connectedness was no longer protective for suicide attempt when risk of depression was included in the model.

CONCLUSIONS

School connectedness, which is felt to have positive influences on many types of adolescent behaviour, appears to also be both directly and indirectly protective for suicidality. These effects may occur through different pathways in females and males. Given the protection it offers both genders, including those at risk and not at risk of depression, increasing school connectedness should be considered as a universal adolescent mental health strategy. Studies that examine school connectedness should include analyses that examine potential differences between males and females.

Investigating mental fitness and school connectedness in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, Canada

BACKGROUND

As youth struggle with anxiety and depression, promoting positive mental fitness is a primary concern. Canadian school-based mental health programs that focus on positive psychology and positive mental health initiatives emphasize safe and supportive environments, student engagement, resilience, and self-determination. This study examined predictors of mental fitness and its 3 components (autonomy, competence, and relatedness).

METHODS

School Health Action Planning and Evaluation System-Prince Edward Island (SHAPES-PEI) and the New Brunswick Student Wellness Survey (NB SWS) are data collection and feedback systems that survey youth about 4 health behaviors. Grade 7-12 students in Prince Edward Island (N = 3318) and New Brunswick (N = 7314) completed a mental fitness questionnaire in 2008-2009 (PEI) and 2006-2007 (NB). Four linear regression models were conducted to examine student characteristics associated with mental fitness, autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

RESULTS

Positive associations were found between school connectedness (p < .0001) and mental fitness, as well as autonomy, competence, and relatedness. There were also significant relationships between affect, pro-social and antisocial behaviors, tried smoking, and mental fitness.

CONCLUSION

A better understanding of adolescent health and its predictors is needed. By identifying core parameters for mental fitness, we can inform how to address students' needs through appropriate programs and policies supporting healthy school environments.

Sex differences in associations of school connectedness with adolescent sexual risk-taking in Nova Scotia, Canada

BACKGROUND

Associations of lower school connectedness have been seen with adolescent sexual risk behaviors, but little is known about gender differences with respect to these relationships. Understanding any such differences could contribute to better supporting the school environment to promote youth sexual health.

METHODS

We used provincially representative cross-sectional data from 1415 sexually active students in grades 10 to 12 in Nova Scotia, Canada, to determine whether lower school connectedness was associated with students' sexual risk behaviors using multivariate logistic regression, stratifying by sex.

RESULTS

In boys, lower connectedness was associated with three risk behaviors, having  ≥ 2 partners in the previous year (odds ratio [OR] 1.07; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.13), no condom use at last intercourse (OR 1.06; 95% CI 1.01-1.12), and having unplanned intercourse due to substance use (OR 1.09; 95% CI 1.03-1.15). No such associations were seen in girls.

CONCLUSIONS

These results demonstrate that gender differences may exist for associations of school connectedness and sexual risk behaviors; connectedness may be more important for boys than for girls in this area of adolescent health. Educators should consider gender differences when designing interventions to maximize youth sexual health through school-based interventions. Further research on school connectedness and risk-taking should examine genders separately.

The Impact of School Connectedness and Teacher Support on Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents: A Multilevel Analysis

Using data from Waves I and II of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), this study examined the association between school connectedness and teacher support and depressive symptoms in a weighted sample of 11,852 adolescents from 132 schools. To account for the nested data, multilevel regression was utilized. The results indicated higher school connectedness and getting along with teachers were significantly associated with fewer depressive symptoms. Findings offer implications for school social work practice and future research. Suggestions for future research are described and strategies to enhance school connectedness and teacher support are discussed.

Associations between perceptions of school connectedness and adolescent health risk behaviors in South African high school learners

BACKGROUND

This study investigated the relationship between school connectedness and health risk behaviors, specifically, substance abuse, violence-related behaviors, sexual risk behaviors, and suicidal ideation among school-going adolescents. School connectedness was understood to encompass a range of aspects pertaining to a learner's sense of belonging to the school. We hypothesized that strong perceptions of school connectedness will more likely be associated with lower levels of risk behaviors among school-going adolescents.

METHODS

The study was conducted in 2 neighboring public co-educational schools in Durban, South Africa. Independent measures assessed school connectedness, substance abuse, violence-related behaviors, sexual risk behaviors, and suicidal ideation.

RESULTS

Strong negative correlations were found between adolescents' perceptions of school connectedness and the 4 health risk behaviors, particularly suicidal ideation. The relative importance of risk factors was also evidenced in the sample.

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescents with lower perceptions of school connectedness were more likely to engage in various risk behaviors, supporting the literature that a lack of school connectedness can act as a risk factor for adolescent involvement in clustering of risk behaviors. Further the relative weighting of individual risk factors, it is argued, was an effect of the sociocultural context of the study.

Longitudinal associations between HIV risk reduction and out-of-school time program participation

PURPOSE

The study aimed to determine the longitudinal associations between several variables assessing positive youth development and HIV risk-reduction practices.

METHODS

Participants were 329 youth enrolled in out-of-school time programs in New York City. Longitudinal data were collected in three waves during 2008-2009 (baseline, 6-month follow-up, and 12-month follow-up). Because of the nested nature of the data, multivariate analyses were performed using multilevel models.

RESULTS

At baseline, HIV risk reduction was associated with female gender, greater individual-level program participation, and greater school connectedness. Over time, HIV risk reduction was associated with program-level participation: Individuals in groups with program-level participation scores 1 standard deviation below the average showed significant declines in risk reduction practices over the 1-year study period compared with individuals in more participatory programs.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides support for the out-of-school environment as an important context for sustaining HIV risk reduction and positive health promotion practices.

Do social connections and hope matter in predicting early adolescent violence?

We tested relationships between social connections, hope, and violence among young adolescents from socially distressed urban neighborhoods, and examined whether relationships between adolescents' family and school connectedness and violence involvement were mediated by hopefulness. Data were from middle school students involved in the Lead Peace demonstration study. The sample (N = 164) was 51.8% female; 42% African American, 28% Asian, 13% Hispanic, and 17% mixed race or other race; average age was 12.1 years; 46% reported physical fighting in the past year. In multivariate models, parent-family connectedness was protective against violence; school connectedness was marginally protective. Hopefulness was related to lower levels of violence. The relationship between school connectedness and violence was mediated by hopefulness; some evidence for mediation also existed in the family-parent connectedness and violence relationship. Findings warrant continued exploration of hopefulness as an important protective factor against violence involvement, and as a mediator in relationships between social connections and violence involvement.