Exploring the Contributions of School Belonging to Complete Mental Health Screening

Dual-factor Models of Mental Health: A Systematic Review of Empirical Evidence

Objective: Dual-factor models of mental health propose that mental health includes two interrelated yet distinct dimensions - psychopathology and well-being. However, there is no systematization of the evidence following these models. This review aims to address the following research question: what evidence exists using dual-factor models? Method: The current systematic review was conducted using PRISMA guidelines on the following databases: Web-of-science, Scopus, Academic Search Complete, APA PsycArticles, APA PsycInfo, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, ERIC, and MEDLINE. The screening process resulted in 85 manuscripts that tested the assumptions of dual-factor models. Results: Evidence revealed psychometric substantiation on the two-dimensionality of the dual-factor model, and 85% of the manuscripts provided evidence related to classifying participants into different mental health groups. Most studies showed that the Complete Mental Health or Positive Mental Health group is the most prevalent status group, and longitudinal evidence suggests that most participants (around 50%-64%) remain in the same group across time. Regarding the factors associated with mental health status groups, studies reviewed in this manuscript focus mainly on school-related outcomes, followed by supportive relationships, sociodemographic characteristics, psychological assets, individual attributes, physical health, and stressful events. Conclusions: This review highlights the importance of considering the two dimensions of mental health when conceptualizing, operationalizing, and measuring mental health. Fostering mental health must go beyond reducing symptoms, and practitioners would be able to include well-being-related interventions in their regular practice to improve individuals' mental health outcomes.

The General Mattering Scale, the Anti-Mattering Scale, and the Fear of Not Mattering Inventory: Psychometric Properties and Links with Distress and Hope Among Chinese University Students

Purpose

Mattering is essential to university students' mental health. Feeling valued by others or unimportant can affect their overall well-being. However, most measures for assessing mattering have been developed and tested in Western countries, with limited evaluation of the measures when administered to university students in other regions. This study evaluated the reliability and validity of three mattering-related instruments - the General Mattering Scale (GMS), Anti-Mattering Scale (AMS), and Fear of Not Mattering Inventory (FNMI) among Chinese university students using classical test theory and Rasch analysis.

Methods

The study comprised 3594 university students from 19 universities across 13 provinces in mainland China, with a balanced gender distribution of 47.2% females and 52.8% males. Participants' ages ranged from 18 to 37, averaging 20.02 years. Most (78.4%) were in four-year programs, with the rest in three-year programs. The majority were freshmen (54.2%), and 86.3% had siblings. The predominant major was engineering (43.4%), followed by roughly equal representations in science, social science, and literature/art.

Results

The three scales showed high reliability and factorial validity, with Rasch analysis confirming their unidimensionality and monotonicity, although 2 of 15 items (one GMS item and one FNMI item) had lower fit. There were no substantial differences in item functioning between male and female respondents. Further analyses indicated that mattering, anti-mattering, and fear of not mattering all explained significant unique variance in levels of hope and distress.

Conclusion

All three mattering-related instruments are suitable for assessing Chinese students' mattering, anti-mattering, and fear of not mattering and changes in levels of these mattering dimensions. Moreover, each measure represents a unique element of the mattering construct in terms of associations with levels of hope and distress assessed in during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The role of school connectedness in the prevention of youth depression and anxiety: a systematic review with youth consultation

Background

School connectedness reflects the quality of students’ engagement with peers, teachers, and learning in the school environment. It has attracted attention from both the health and education sectors as a potentially modifiable protective factor for common mental health problems. However, the extent to which school connectedness may prevent the onset of youth depression or anxiety or promote their remission is unclear. This systematic review examined evidence for prospective relationships between school connectedness and depression and anxiety, and the effect of interventions to improve school connectedness on depression and anxiety.

Methods

We searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMed, and ERIC electronic databases for peer-reviewed quantitative longitudinal, or intervention studies published from 2011–21 in English examining relationships between school connectedness and anxiety and/or depression. Participants were 14–24 years old when depression and anxiety outcomes were assessed in any education setting in any country. We partnered with five youth advisers (aged 16–21 years) with lived experience of mental health problems and/or the schooling system in Australia, Indonesia, and the Philippines to ensure that youth perspectives informed the review.

Results

Our search identified 3552 unique records from which 34 longitudinal and 2 intervention studies were ultimately included. Studies were primarily from the United States of America (69.4%). Depression and anxiety outcomes were first measured at 14 years old, on average. Most studies found a significant protective relationship between higher levels of school connectedness and depressive and/or anxiety symptoms; more measured depression than anxiety. A few studies found a non-significant relationship. Both intervention studies designed to increase school connectedness improved depression, one through improvements in self-esteem and one through improvements in relationships at school.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that school connectedness may be a novel target for the prevention of depression and anxiety. We were not able to determine whether improving school connectedness promotes remission in young people already experiencing depression and anxiety. More studies examining anxiety, diagnostic outcomes, and beyond North America are warranted, as well as intervention trials.

Trial registration

PROSPERO 2021 CRD42021270967.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-14364-6.

Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Perception of Inclusion in School Education and Physical Activity Among Polish Students

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic impacted the lives of children and adolescents, leading to many changes in their routines, especially in education. Face-to-face physical education (PE) classes during COVID-19 were affected in organization, possibly conditioning students' participation, motivation, and learning. In the extreme conditions of the coronavirus, it may be assumed that daily physical activity became much less than before, partly because students are learning outside the school environment and PE lessons taught using remote forms do not fulfill their purpose. The aim of the study was to assess the pupil's perception of inclusion in school education during the remote learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and to compare the results with the control group. Moreover, the physical activity of respondents during social isolation due to the coronavirus was examined. The sample consisted of 111 pupils of both genders, aged 14–21 years. The Perceptions of Inclusion Questionnaire (PIQ) was used to measure the perception of inclusion in school education. The structure of the participants' physical activity was examined using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Long Form (IPAQ-LF) for adolescents. It was observed that the pupils' gender did not differentiate their perception of inclusion in school education. It was proved that respondents participating in research during the COVID-19 pandemic obtained statistically significantly lower results in the case of “emotional wellbeing in school” (p < 0.001; η2 = 0.07) but a higher mean was observed in relation to “social relationships with other pupils” (p = 0.04; η2 = 0.02) than the control group. Girls achieved a higher mean in the case of walk Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET) (p = 0.02; η2 = 0.06) than boys. In addition, it was observed that the recommendation of vigorous physical activities was achieved by 37.78% of boys and 34.85% of girls. In turn, 69.70% of female pupils and 77.78% of male respondents met the recommendations for medium physical activities. It was also noted that 87.88% of girls and 86.67% of boys participating in the research achieved the recommendation for total physical activities. The analysis showed negligible and low positive correlations between examined variables.

Validation of the Perceptions of Inclusion Questionnaire including PE Teachers’ Opinion as Part of an Innovative Use of the Tool

The aim of the study was to validate the Polish version of the Perceptions of Inclusion Questionnaire (PIQ) for the first time. The analysis included not only pupils, parents/legal guardians, and teachers but also physical education teachers, which is an innovative solution proposed by the authors. The sample consisted of 448 respondents. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the tested model corresponding to the construct proposed by the PIQ authors did not have good fit indicators (χ2/df = 7.73; CFI = 0.855; SRMR = 0.103; RMSEA = 0.123). The three-factor structure of the questionnaire was confirmed by the eigenvalues obtained for each extracted factor based on the Kaiser criterion and the scree plot based on the Cattella criterion. All three factors showed satisfactory levels of reliability (Cronbach’s alpha > 0.7). The conditions of convergent and discriminant validity for the construct were confirmed. However, Horn’s parallel analysis showed that the optimal number of factors is 4. Therefore, the research presented here should constitute a starting point for further analyses. It is recommended that research teams should conduct further scientific exploration of the PIQ tool in four perspectives, i.e., including PE teachers’ opinions.

Self-Regulation and Regulatory Teaching as Determinants of Academic Behavioral Confidence and Procrastination in Undergraduate Students

The combination of student Self-Regulation (SR) and the context of Regulatory Teaching (RT), each in varying degree, has recently been demonstrated to have effects on achievement emotions, factors and symptoms of stress, and coping strategies. The aim of the present research study is to verify its possible further effects, on academic behavioral confidence and procrastination. A total of 1193 university students completed validated online questionnaires with regard to specific subjects in their degree program. Using an ex post facto design, multivariate analyses and structural equation modeling (SEM) were carried out in order to test the relationships predicted by the model. SR and RT had a significant joint effect in determining the degree of academic behavioral confidence and of procrastination. Academic behavioral confidence also significantly predicted reasons for procrastinating, and these in turn predicted activities of procrastination. Conclusions are discussed, insisting on the combined weight of the two variables in determining academic behavioral confidence, reasons for procrastinating and activities subject to procrastination, in university students. Implications for guidance and educational support of university students and teachers are analyzed.

Schools As a Vital Component of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health System

This review examines the history and contemporary landscape of school mental health, describing evidence that schools are an essential component of the system of child and adolescent care and providing recommendations to advance this vital care delivery system. This literature review of scientific data and shifts to policy and practice in school mental health documents the evolution of collaboration between the education and mental health systems to support student mental health. This review describes best practices and provides examples for achieving the standards of the comprehensive school mental health systems model in states and local communities. Data demonstrate that multitiered systems of mental health support and services in schools, including mental health promotion, prevention, early intervention, and treatment, improve academic and psychosocial functioning and reduce risk of poor outcomes, including mental illness and school failure. Policy and practice shifts in the field reflect a movement toward integrating mental health systems into the education sector, including preparing the education workforce to promote mental health and to support early identification of and intervention to address mental illness. To create a full continuum of mental health supports for students, states and districts can draw on national best practices and state exemplars as they install multitiered systems of mental health supports in all schools, conduct universal student mental health monitoring, and coordinate school and community mental health systems.

Effects of Self-Regulation vs. External Regulation on the Factors and Symptoms of Academic Stress in Undergraduate Students

The SRL vs. ERL theory has shown that the combination of levels of student self-regulation and regulation from the teaching context produces linear effects on achievement emotions and coping strategies. However, a similar effect on stress factors and symptoms of university students has not yet been demonstrated. The aim of this study was to test this prediction. It was hypothesized that the level of student self-regulation (low/medium/high), in interaction with the level of external regulation from teaching (low/medium/high), would also produce a linear effect on stress factors and symptoms of university students. A total of 527 undergraduate students completed validated questionnaires about self-regulation, regulatory teaching, stress factors, and symptoms. Using an ex post facto design by selection, ANOVAs and MANOVAs (3 × 3; 5 × 1; 5 × 2) were carried out. The results confirmed that the level of self-regulation and the level of regulatory teaching jointly determined the level of stress factors and symptoms of university students. Once again, a five-level heuristic of possible combinations was configured to jointly determine university students’ level of academic stress. We concluded that the combination of different levels of student regulation and regulation from the teaching process jointly determines university students’ level of academic stress. The implications for university students’ emotional health, stress prevention, and well-being are established.

A Structural Equation Model of Achievement Emotions, Coping Strategies and Engagement-Burnout in Undergraduate Students: A Possible Underlying Mechanism in Facets of Perfectionism

Achievement emotions that the university student experiences in the learning process can be significant in facilitating or interfering with learning. The present research looked for linear and predictive relations between university students' achievement emotions, coping strategies, and engagement-burnout, in three different learning situations (classroom, study time, and testing). Hypotheses were identified for a possible model that would analyze the two facets of perfectionism based on these relations. In the case of perfectionistic strivings, the test hypothesis was that positive emotions would predispose the use of problem-focused coping strategies and an emotional state of engagement; in the case of perfectionistic concerns, however, negative emotions would predispose the use of emotion-focused strategies and a state of burnout. A total of 654 university students participated in the study, using an online tool to complete validated questionnaires on the three study variables. All students provided informed consent and corresponding permissions. Given the ex-post facto linear design, the predictions could be verified for each situation by means of logistic regression analyses and Structural Equations Models (SEM). Empirical results lent support, in varying degree, to the proposed theoretical relations. The testing situation was of particular interest. We discuss implications for perfectionism research and for the practice of prevention, education and health care in the university setting.

Effects of Levels of Self-Regulation and Regulatory Teaching on Strategies for Coping With Academic Stress in Undergraduate Students

The SRL vs. ERL TheoryTM predicts that regulation-related factors in the student and in the context combine to determine the student's levels in emotional variables, stress, and coping strategies. The objective of the present research was to test this prediction in the aspect of coping strategies. Our hypothesis posed that students' level of self-regulation (low-medium-high), in combination with the level of regulation promoted in teaching (low-medium-high), would determine the type of strategies students used to cope with academic stress; the interaction of these levels would focus coping strategies either toward emotions or toward the problem. A total of 944 university students completed validated questionnaires on self-regulation, regulatory teaching, and coping strategies, using an online tool. ANOVAs and MANOVAs (3 × 1; 3 × 3; 5 × 1) were carried out, in a quasi-experimental design by selection. Level of self-regulation and level of regulatory teaching both had a significant effect on the type of coping strategies used. The most important finding was that the combined level of self-regulation and external regulation, on a five-level scale or heuristic, predicted the type of coping strategies that were used. In conclusion, the fact that this combination can predict type of coping strategies used by the student lends empirical support to the initial theory. Implications for the teaching-learning process at university and for students' emotional health are discussed.

The Role of Psychological Sense of School Membership and Postcode as Predictors of Profiles of Socio-emotional Health in Primary School Children in England

A dual approach to mental health in schools has been widely defended, where the assessment of psychological distress and the examination of strengths/well-being are two separate continua. In line with a well-being approach, school belonging has been referenced as an important indicator of mental health in children. This study explored the predictive role of school sense of belonging alongside other demographic variables (gender, main language spoken at home, and socio-economic status of postcode) on the socio-emotional health profiles of primary school children in England. Children (N = 522) were recruited from three primary schools in Greater London. A survey including measures of school belonging and socio-emotional health was administered to all children. Results showed that it is possible to identify groups of students at primary school level based on socio-emotional health ratings on gratitude, zest, optimism, and perseverance. School sense of membership, as measured by the psychological sense of school membership primary (PSSM-P), was the best predictor of group membership and, together with socio-economic status, explains 37% of the variance in socio-emotional health profiles. Belonging starts affecting well-being and socio-emotional health as early as in primary school, hence the importance of universal screening and early preventive actions to promote well-being in this age range. The study provides evidence supporting the use of the abbreviated (PSSM-P) in predicting socio-emotional health profiles, with potential to complement distress-based measures.

Languishing Students: Linking Complete Mental Health Screening in Schools to Tier II Intervention

Despite innovations in the screening and early identification of students who may benefit from school mental health services, many schools struggle to link screening to intervention decisions, particularly at the Tier II level. Universal complete mental health screening, which measures strengths along with risk factors, is a strength-based approach that enables identification of students who do not report active mental health risk yet have limited psychosocial strengths. These languishing students are ideal candidates for Tier II interventions. Using a case study to link screening to intervention, this paper describes a contemporary approach to complete mental health screening, identify candidates for Tier II intervention, select appropriate interventions, and monitor student outcomes. Implications and challenges for school psychologists are discussed.