Emotional symptoms among adolescents: epidemiological analysis of individual-, classroom- and school-level factors

Linking school- and classroom-level characteristics to child adjustment: A representative study of children from Hong Kong, China

BACKGROUND

The school is one of the most salient developmental contexts for children. However, little is known about the associations linking the school environment to child adjustment in a non-Western context, not to mention the potential processes that may mediate these associations.

AIMS

This study examined the associations of school- and classroom-level characteristics with child adjustment and tested whether these associations were mediated by teacher-child relationship qualities.

SAMPLE

Cross-sectional data were collected on a representative sample of 1777 children (mean age = 55.14 months; 50% of them were girls) from 100 kindergartens in Hong Kong, China.

METHODS

Using self-reported questionnaires, teachers rated their school-level environments, their classroom chaos, their closeness and conflict with children and children's socioemotional competence and academic ability. Meanwhile, parents rated children's behavioural problems.

RESULTS

Multilevel structural equation modelling revealed that the school-level environment and classroom chaos were uniquely associated with children's socioemotional, behavioural and academic adjustment. Moreover, the associations of the school-level environment and classroom chaos with child socioemotional and academic adjustment were mediated by teacher-child closeness and conflict, whereas the associations of the school-level environment and classroom chaos with child behavioural problems were mediated by teacher-child conflict only.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings indicated how school- and classroom-level characteristics may be uniquely associated with child adjustment and how teacher-child relationships may be implicated in the underlying mechanism, highlighting the potential utility of targeting school- and classroom-level environments and teacher-child relationships in promoting child development.

Mediating Effects of Academic Self-Efficacy and Depressive Symptoms on Prosocial/Antisocial Behavior Among Youths

Adolescence is a critical period during which youth develop and shape their behaviors. Because differences between youths are strongly connected to environmental factors, we aimed to elucidate possible pathways from home-school regulation and atmosphere to youths' prosocial and antisocial behaviors. Data were derived from the China Education Panel Survey. This study involved a total of 9291 students aged 14-15 years (4834 boys, 4457 girls). We used structural equation modeling (SEM) with LISREL 8.80 and Monte Carlo resampling with R to conduct the analysis strategy. In the home-school regulation, parental supervision on the one hand and teacher criticism on the other hand have direct positive and negative predictive effects on youths' prosocial behaviors, respectively, while their direct effects on antisocial behavior are the opposite; teachers praise does not directly affect adolescents' prosocial and antisocial behaviors. In the home-school atmosphere, family interaction and perceived good class climate directly positively affect youths' prosocial behaviors, while the direct effects of both on antisocial behavior are not significant. The SEM results reveal that academic self-efficacy and depressive symptoms may be underlying mediating mechanisms through which home-school regulation and atmosphere during adolescence affect students' prosocial and antisocial behaviors. Intervention programs targeting home-school supportive environments and prevention programs targeting positive emotion and self-awareness may yield benefits for proper social behavior in adolescents. For example, by enhancing the way and frequency of parent-child interaction, teachers and students jointly create a good class climate of care and friendship to strengthen a home-school supportive environment. Improve adolescents' positive emotions such as contentment, optimism, and hope to reduce the possibility of depression.

Tolerancia a la frustración, estrés y autoestima como predictores de la planificación y toma de decisiones en adolescentes

Dentro del complejo constructo de las funciones ejecutivas, el componente de planificación y toma de decisiones es un pilar básico en el ajuste psicológico de los adolescentes. En este estudio se analiza la relación y el carácter predictivo de la tolerancia a la frustración, la autoestima y el estrés percibido, en la planificación y toma de decisiones. Participaron 161 estudiantes de Madrid (España) con edades comprendidas entre los 12 y 18 años (M = 14.51; DT = 1.74). Los datos se recogieron mediante la subescala para la Evaluación de la Planificación y Toma de Decisiones de la Life Skills Development Scale - Adolescent Form (LSDS-B), la Escala de la Tolerancia a la Frustración (ETF), la Escala de Autoestima de Rosenberg (RSE), y la Escala de Estrés Percibido (PSS-14). Se realizaron análisis descriptivos, correlacionales y regresión logística binaria. Los resultados mostraron una alta tolerancia a la frustración, alta autoestima y menores niveles de estrés percibido entre los adolescentes con mayores puntuaciones en planificación y toma de decisiones. El análisis de regresión confirmó que el alto nivel de planificación y toma de decisiones es predicho por niveles altos de tolerancia a la frustración y autoestima, así como por niveles bajos de estrés percibido. Estos resultados ponen de manifiesto la necesidad de seguir aplicando los principios del desarrollo positivo para proporcionar a los adolescentes una mayor protección contra los factores y las conductas de riesgo.

Trajectories of peer relationship problems and emotional symptoms in children 5 years after a nuclear disaster: Fukushima Health Management Survey

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (NPS) accident, which occurred in March 2011, is having long-term effects on children. About 3 years after the accident, we identified three patterns of peer relationship problems and four patterns of emotional symptoms using group-based trajectory modeling. As a result, we reported that different factors might be related to very severe trajectories of peer relationship problems and emotional symptoms. In this study, we used five waves of data from fiscal year (FY) 2011 to FY2015 from the Mental Health and Lifestyle Survey, a detailed survey of the Fukushima Health Management Survey started in FY2011. We analyzed 7013 residents within the government-designated evacuation zone (aged 6-12 years old as of 11 March 2011) with responses to all items of psychological distress in at least one wave from FY2011 and FY2015. We planned this study to describe the trajectories of peer relationship problems and emotional symptoms in children and to examine potential risks and protective factors over the 5 years following the NPS accident. We identified four patterns of peer relationship problems and five patterns of emotional symptoms using latent class growth analysis. For peer relationship problems, male sex, experiencing the NPS explosion and lack of exercise habits were associated with the severe trajectory group. For emotional symptoms, experiencing the NPS explosion, experiencing the tsunami disaster and lack of exercise habits were associated with the severe trajectory group. Exercise habits are very important for the mental health of evacuees after a nuclear disaster.

Maternal depression and non-specific health complaints in the offspring: a cross-sectional study in Danish primary care

Background

Maternal depression has been linked to adverse outcomes in the offspring. Existing literature is mainly based on parental reports, which can be an unreliable source when the parent has depression.

Aim

To explore if maternal depression was associated with daily health complaints and low self-assessed health (SAH) in the offspring.

Design and setting

Participants were 45 727 children from the Danish National Birth Cohort recruited between 1996 and 2002. At 11-year follow-up, mothers and their children were invited to complete a questionnaire. Maternal depression was categorised into: no depression, first-time treatment, continued treatment, post-treatment, and relapse.

Method

Binomial regression was used to estimate the adjusted prevalence proportion ratio (aPPR) of frequent health complaints and low SAH in children of mothers with depression compared to children of mothers without depression.

Results

The prevalence of any daily health complaint was 11.4%, daily somatic complaints 4.1%, daily mental complaints 8.9%, both daily mental and somatic complaints 1.5%, and low SAH 5.3%. Children of mothers with depression (any category) were more likely to report a daily health complaint: first-time treatment aPPR 1.35 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.96 to 1.85), continued treatment aPPR 1.59 (95% CI = 1.37 to 1.85), post-treatment aPPR 1.30 (95% CI = 1.20 to 1.41), and relapse aPPR 1.56 (95% CI = 1.35 to 1.79). Children of mothers with depression were also more likely to report low SAH: first-time treatment aPPR 1.58 (95% CI = 0.99 to 2.54), continued treatment aPPR 1.86 (95% CI = 1.51 to 2.28), post-treatment aPPR 1.34 (95% CI = 1.19 to 1.50), and relapse aPPR 1.56 (95% CI = 1.26 to 1.93). Girls had a higher prevalence of mental and somatic health complaints and more often reported low SAH compared to boys.

Conclusion

Treatment of maternal depression was associated with higher prevalence of daily health complaints and low SAH in the offspring at age 11 years. The association was strongest for children of mothers with continued depression or relapse.

Sexual jokes at school and psychological complaints: Student- and class-level associations

Background: Students who are subjected to sexual harassment at school report lower psychological well-being than those who are not exposed. Yet, it is possible that the occurrence of sexual harassment in the school class is also stressful for those who are not directly targeted, with potential negative effects on well-being for all students. Aim: The aim was to examine whether exposure to sexual jokes at the student level and at the class level was associated with students’ psychological complaints, and if these associations differed by gender. Method: Data from the Swedish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) of 2017/18 was used, with information from students aged 11, 13 and 15 years (N=3720 distributed across 209 classes). Psychological health complaints were constructed as an index based on four items. Exposure to sexual jokes at the student level was measured by one item, and at the class level as the class proportion of students exposed to sexual jokes, in per cent. Two-level linear regression analyses were performed.Results: Students who had been exposed to sexual jokes at school reported higher levels of psychological complaints, especially boys. Furthermore, the class proportion of students who had been exposed to sexual jokes was also associated with psychological complaints, even when adjusting for student-level exposure to sexual jokes, gender, grade and class size. Conclusions: Sexual jokes seem to be harmful for those who are directly exposed, but may also affect indirectly exposed students negatively. Thus, a school climate free from sexual jokes may profit all students.

Classroom Disorder and Internalizing Problems Among Swedish Adolescents: Changes Between 1988 and 2011

BACKGROUND

Internalizing problems have increased among Swedish adolescents. We examined whether classroom disorder was associated with internalizing problems and whether it explained the trends in internalizing problems. Furthermore, we examined whether school contextual factors were associated with internalizing problems and whether they moderated the association between classroom disorder and internalizing problems.

METHODS

We used repeated cross-sectional survey data (1988-2011) among all 15- to 16-year-old students in Värmland, Sweden (N = 9491 boys, N = 9313 girls). School-level factors were the proportions of students with a low/average socioeconomic or an immigration background.

RESULTS

Results from mixed effects models showed that classroom disorder was associated with internalizing problems across the years of investigation but did not explain the trends in internalizing problems. This association was moderated by the school-level proportion of students with a low/average socioeconomic background but not the school-level proportion of students with an immigration background.

CONCLUSIONS

Students who perceived their classroom to be disorderly more often also reported more internalizing problems. Future studies are necessary to investigate other potential school factors that may explain the trends in internalizing problems.

The impact of peer attachment on prosocial behavior, emotional difficulties and conduct problems in adolescence: The mediating role of empathy

Attachment theories postulate that during adolescence, peer relationships become more important as a predictor of positive social, emotional and behavioral outcomes. Adolescents develop the ability to empathize with others, which is related to healthy functioning and positive peer relationships. Empathy has been studied as a potential mechanism that may help to explain how strong and healthy emotional bonds are associated with less emotional disorders and conduct problems in youth. The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between peer attachment and strengths and difficulties during adolescence, considering empathy as a potential mediator of this association. A total of 800 Spanish adolescents (56.65% girls), aged between 12 and 15 years (M = 14.02, SD = 1.21), completed measures of peer attachment, empathy, conduct problems, emotional difficulties and prosocial behavior. Structural equation models indicated that peer attachment was negatively associated with conduct problems and emotional difficulties but positively related to prosocial behavior. In general, empathy mediated the link between peer attachment and both emotional and behavioral outcomes, without significant group differences between boys and girls. The discussion focuses on the importance of healthy peer relationships as a powerful predictor of emotional well-being and psychological problems in adolescence.

School climate and mental health among Swedish adolescents: a multilevel longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

School is one of the most formative institutions for adolescents' development, but whether school environment affects mental health is uncertain. We investigated the association between the school's pedagogical and social climate and individual-level mental health in adolescence.

METHODS

We studied 3416 adolescents from 94 schools involved in KUPOL, a longitudinal study conducted in eight regions in Sweden. School climate was reported by the school's teaching personnel and by the final year students using the teacher and the student versions of the Pedagogical and Social Climate Questionnaire, respectively. Index persons' mental health was assessed with the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. We performed multilevel logistic regression models adjusted for individual, familial and school-level confounders measured in grade 7 and exposure and outcome measured in grades 8 and 9.

RESULTS

The adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals comparing the middle and the high to the lowest tertile of the total teacher school climate score were 1.47 (1.10-1.97) and 1.52 (1.11-2.09) for depressive symptoms and 1.50 (1.08-2.08) and 1.64 (1.16-2.33) for the total strengths and difficulties score. In contrast, there was no association between total student school climate score and mental health.

CONCLUSIONS

We found that teacher-, but not student-rated school climate was associated with an increased risk of poor mental health at the student level; the association was most pronounced for internalizing problems. Given schools' importance for adolescents' development, further studies are needed to clarify the mechanisms underlying the observed association.

Associations between self-efficacy, bullying and health-related quality of life in a school sample of adolescents: a cross-sectional study

Background

To better understand health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in adolescents, it is important to gain knowledge about factors associated with HRQOL. Being involved in bullying is a significant threat to health, and social and psychological well-being; further, such problems can last into adulthood. The aim of this study was to explore the role of general self-efficacy (GSE) and bullying in relation to HRQOL. We specifically sought to study the prevalence of bullying, as well as the associations between both bullying and self-efficacy and HRQOL in a sample of adolescents.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study of 723 adolescents (12–18 years) attending schools selected using randomized cluster sampling. HRQOL was measured using the KIDSCREEN-52, self-efficacy was measured with the GSE scale, and bullying was measured using the two global questions from the Olweus bullying questionnaire. Multiple regression analyses were performed to explore how being bullied, bullying, and GSE were associated with variations in self-reported HRQOL.

Results

Of the 723 adolescents, 13% reported being bullied; there were no gender differences within this finding. However, more boys than girls reported that they had bullied others. Both being bullied, and bullying others, were associated with lower HRQOL; however, being bullied was associated with the lowest scores. Higher self-efficacy was associated with better HRQOL. Self-efficacy contributed significantly to predicting variation in HRQOL.

Conclusions

Being involved in bullying, as a victim or a bully, is associated with lower HRQOL. The association between GSE and HRQOL indicates that self-efficacy might be a resource for increasing HRQOL among adolescents. Our findings highlight the importance of targeting self-efficacy beliefs as an intervention strategy to improve GSE and HRQOL in adolescents involved in bullying.

A description of classroom help networks, individual network position, and their associations with academic achievement

This study examined how classroom peer relations can be described in terms of the network of help relations among students, and the positions students take up in this help network, and whether the structure of adolescent classroom help networks and individual network positions were associated with academic achievement. Help networks were based on the peer nomination question "Who helps you with problems?" Building on previous studies on classroom climate and individual network position, higher academic achievement was expected in classrooms with: a dense help network; no or a few network isolates (referring to students that did not give or receive help at all); less segmentation in help relations; equally distributed help nominations. In addition, higher achievement was expected for individuals with more helpers and a more central position in the help network. Using the Dutch SNARE data (54 classrooms; 1,144 students), the multilevel models suggested that lower achievement was related to an unequal distribution of help relations in a classroom. Moreover, the centrality of individuals in the help network was linked to higher achievement. Classrooms varied strongly on network dimensions, and networks that would theoretically be expected to be most beneficial for achievement (with high density, a few isolates, low segmentation, and high equality) turned out to be highly uncommon. The findings demonstrated that subtle network processes were relevant for academic success, and that classroom network characteristics are associated with classroom-level variation in academic achievement. Descriptive results underlined the complexity of the social context of classrooms, and the absence of 'beneficial' classrooms suggests that researchers should adjust their notion of what is a beneficial or detrimental classroom environment for adolescents.

School effectiveness and students' future orientation: A multilevel analysis of upper secondary schools in Stockholm, Sweden

INTRODUCTION

Future orientation (FO) refers to individuals' beliefs and feelings about their future. Earlier research has primarily investigated correlates of FO at the individual and family level, but it seems likely that FO is also shaped by other central agents or institutions, such as the school. Earlier studies have found positive associations between "school effectiveness" and student performance, and negative associations in relation to e.g., bullying, delinquency, and health risk behaviors. The current study investigated three teacher-reported features of school effectiveness - school leadership, teacher cooperation and consensus, and school ethos - and their links with student-reported FO.

METHODS

Survey data were collected in 2016 among 5131 students (aged 17-18 years) and 1061 teachers in 46 upper secondary schools in Stockholm, Sweden, and merged with school-level register data. Two-level binary logistic regression analyses were performed.

RESULTS

The analyses showed that higher teacher ratings of school leadership and school ethos were associated with a greater likelihood of reporting an optimistic FO among students. Teacher cooperation and consensus was however not associated with students' FO.

CONCLUSION

The findings indicate that the school environment contributes to shaping students' beliefs about their future. Thus, enhancing features of school effectiveness may be a way of promoting a positive development and brighter objective future prospects for the young, via pathways such as good student-teacher relations and academic motivation and achievement.

Education system stratification and health complaints among school-aged children

Research shows that the school environment is an important social determinant of health among children and adolescents. However, we know virtually nothing of the health consequences of national education systems and policies, for example the stratification of pupils by academic ability. This study aimed to investigate if education system stratification is related to self-reported psychological and somatic health complaints of pupils aged 11 to 15, and social inequalities in such health complaints. Survey data from the Health Behaviors of School-aged Children (HBSC) survey, covering 33 countries and more than 180 000 pupils in primary and lower secondary school, were used. Multilevel models showed that education system stratification was not associated with the average levels of health complaints of pupils, but cross-level interaction effects showed that stratification moderated the relationship between social background and health complaints, such that inequalities in health complaints were smaller in countries with more stratified systems. Moreover, this moderating effect was mediated by the school learning environment and social relations in school. Specifically, social inequalities in school pressure, academic self-concept, school climate, and school satisfaction were smaller in more stratified education systems, which in turn accounted for smaller inequalities in health complaints in these countries.

Perceived class climate and school-aged children's life satisfaction: The role of the learning environment in classrooms

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of class-level class climate on school-aged children's life satisfaction. Data was derived from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) using sixth grade school-aged children (n = 4,764, 483 classes). Class climate includes indicators of teachers' care and monitoring, demands, interaction, autonomy, as well as school-aged children's attitudes towards schoolwork at the class- and individual-level. Results showed that individual perceived class climate in terms of teachers' care and monitoring and autonomy was positively related to life satisfaction, whereas school-related demands were related to lower life satisfaction. Besides teachers' care and monitoring at class-level, indicators of class climate were not associated with school-aged children's life satisfaction, while the individual perceived class climate is more important for life satisfaction.

School Contextual Features of Social Disorder and Mental Health Complaints-A Multilevel Analysis of Swedish Sixth-Grade Students

This study addressed school-contextual features of social disorder in relation to sixth-grade students' experiences of bullying victimization and mental health complaints. It investigated, firstly, whether the school's concentrations of behavioural problems were associated with individual students' likelihood of being bullied, and secondly, whether the school's concentrations of behavioural problems and bullying victimization predicted students' emotional and psychosomatic health complaints. The data were derived from the Swedish National Survey of Mental Health among Children and Young People, carried out among sixth-grade students (approximately 12-13 years old) in Sweden in 2009. The analyses were based on information from 59,510 students distributed across 1999 schools. The statistical method used was multilevel modelling. While students' own behavioural problems were associated with an elevated risk of being bullied, attending a school with a higher concentration of students with behavioural problems also increased the likelihood of being bullied. Attending a school with higher levels of bullying victimization and behavioural problems predicted more emotional and psychosomatic complaints, even when adjusting for their individual level analogues. The findings indicate that school-level features of social disorder influence bullying victimization and mental health complaints among students.

School Collective Efficacy and Bullying Behaviour: A Multilevel Study

As with other forms of violent behaviour, bullying is the result of multiple influences acting on different societal levels. Yet the majority of studies on bullying focus primarily on the characteristics of individual bullies and bullied. Fewer studies have explored how the characteristics of central contexts in young people’s lives are related to bullying behaviour over and above the influence of individual-level characteristics. This study explores how teacher-rated school collective efficacy is related to student-reported bullying behaviour (traditional and cyberbullying victimization and perpetration). A central focus is to explore if school collective efficacy is related similarly to both traditional bullying and cyberbullying. Analyses are based on combined information from two independent data collections conducted in 2016 among 11th grade students (n = 6067) and teachers (n = 1251) in 58 upper secondary schools in Stockholm. The statistical method used is multilevel modelling, estimating two-level binary logistic regression models. The results demonstrate statistically significant between-school differences in all outcomes, except traditional bullying perpetration. Strong school collective efficacy is related to less traditional bullying perpetration and less cyberbullying victimization and perpetration, indicating that collective norm regulation and school social cohesion may contribute to reducing the occurrence of bullying.

Peer Victimization among Classmates-Associations with Students' Internalizing Problems, Self-Esteem, and Life Satisfaction

Bullying is a major problem in schools and a large number of studies have demonstrated that victims have a high excess risk of poor mental health. It may however also affect those who are not directly victimized by peers. The present study investigates whether peer victimization among classmates is linked to internalizing problems, self-esteem, and life satisfaction at the individual level, when the student’s own victimization has been taken into account. The data were derived from the first wave of the Swedish part of Youth in Europe Study (YES!), including information on 4319 students in grade 8 (14–15 years of age) distributed across 242 classes. Results from multilevel analyses show a significant association between classes with a high proportion of students being victimized and higher levels of internalizing problems, lower self-esteem, and lower life satisfaction at the student level. This association holds when the student’s own victimization has been taken into account. This suggests that peer victimization negatively affects those who are directly exposed, as well as their classmates. We conclude that efficient methods and interventions to reduce bullying in school are likely to benefit not only those who are victimized, but all students.

The Danish National Youth Study 2014: Study design, population characteristics and non-response analysis

Aims: This paper aims to give a description of the Danish National Youth Study 2014 in terms of study design, study population and questionnaire content. The differences between participants and non-participants regarding socioeconomic characteristics are also described. Methods: The Danish National Youth Study 2014 was a web-based survey with data collected through self-completion questionnaires administered in the classroom. There were two questionnaires: one for students, with >250 core questions; and one for school leaders on the school environment. Data collection took place at 119 high schools and 10 vocational schools. Results: A total of 75,853 students participated (70,674 high school students and 5179 vocational school students). In the participating schools, 85% of high school students and 69% of vocational school students took part in the survey. A total of 166 school leaders responded. Among the high school students, 61% were girls, and among vocational school students, 24% were girls. The average age was 17.9 years for high school students and 20.9 years for vocational school students. Participants were more likely than non-participants to be of Danish origin and to have parents with higher educational levels and a higher disposable income. Conclusions: The Danish National Youth Study 2014 contributes to knowledge on adolescent health behaviour, health and well-being. It is unique in its size, diversity of questionnaire content, high participation rate and possibility of linkage to various national registers through the Danish Civil Registration System. The study offers great opportunities for health planning and a wide range of future research projects.