School Connectedness and Adolescent E-cigarette Susceptibility in an Urban Sample of Middle and High School Students

Adolescent school connectedness generally protects from risk behaviors such as tobacco use; however, its relationship to e-cigarette use is unclear. This study examines the relationship between adolescent school connectedness and e-cigarette susceptibility in a diverse longitudinal sample. This secondary analysis of a school-based intervention surveyed 608 middle (66%) and high school (34%) students from 10 schools at 3 time points over 1 year. At baseline, respondents had a mean age of 14 years, 54% were female, and 71% were BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). Logistic regression models examined unadjusted and adjusted associations between school connectedness (both baseline and concurrent) and e-cigarette susceptibility over time. E-cigarettes represented the most prevalent form of current nicotine-containing product use in spring 2019 (2.3%), and most respondents reported no e-cigarette susceptibility (69%). E-cigarette susceptibility remained relatively stable during the study. Higher baseline school connectedness levels were associated with lower odds of e-cigarette susceptibility over time. Similarly, higher concurrent school connectedness scores were associated with lower odds of e-cigarette susceptibility over time: spring 2019 (OR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.32, 0.47), fall 2019 (OR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.34, 0.72), and spring 2020 (OR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.47, 0.87). Findings were similar for middle and high school students and did not differ significantly after adjusting for other covariates. Adolescents' school connectedness appears to protect from e-cigarette susceptibility over time, underscoring the importance of promoting positive school experiences to reduce adolescent risk e-cigarette use.

Why do adolescents attempt suicide? Insights from leading ideation-to-action suicide theories: a systematic review

Suicide is a leading cause of death among adolescents, and recent suicide theories have sought to clarify the factors that facilitate the transition from suicide ideation to action. Specifically, the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (IPTS), Integrated Motivational-Volitional Model (IMV), and Three Step Theory (3ST) have highlighted risk factors central to the formation of suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviors, which is necessary for suicide death. However, these models were initially developed and tested among adults, and given core socioemotional and neurodevelopmental differences in adolescents, the applicability of these models remains unclear. Directly addressing this gap in knowledge, this systematic review aimed to (1) describe the evidence of leading ideation-to-action theories (i.e., IPTS, IMV, 3ST) as they relate to suicide risk among adolescents, (2) integrate ideation-to-action theories within prevailing biological frameworks of adolescent suicide, and (3) provide recommendations for future adolescent suicide research. Overall, few studies provided a complete test of models in adolescent samples, and empirical research testing components of these theories provided mixed support. Future research would benefit from integrating neurodevelopmental and developmentally sensitive psychosocial frameworks to increase the applicability of ideation-to-action theories to adolescents. Further, utilizing real-time monitoring approaches may serve to further clarify the temporal association among risk factors and suicide.

Parent-child relationship and problematic smartphone use among chinese adolescents: a moderated mediation model

To explore the influence and mechanism of parent-child relationship on adolescents' problematic smartphone use, a sample of 3355 Chinese adolescents (M age=16.93, SD = 0.49, range: 14-19 years old; 48% boys) is recruited to measure parent-child relationship, problematic smartphone use, personal growth initiative, and school belonging. The results are as follows. (1) After controlling for gender, age and time spent online per day, parent-child relationship is negatively correlated with problematic smartphone use, and the negative association between parent-child relationship and problematic smartphone use is mediated by the personal growth initiative. (2) The association between parent-child relationship and problematic smartphone use, the association between parent-child relationship and personal growth initiative, and the association between personal growth initiative and problematic smartphone use are all moderated by school belonging and are stronger in adolescents with a high level of school belonging. The present study highlights the mediating role of personal growth initiative and the moderating role of school belonging in the association between parent-child relationship and problematic smartphone use. This study also contributes to a better understanding of the effects, paths, and conditions of parent-child relationship on the problematic smartphone use of adolescents and provides constructive suggestions for preventing adolescents' problematic smartphone use in the mobile Internet era.

Somali, Latino, and Hmong Youth Perceptions of School Connectedness

Purpose:

School connectedness positively influences adolescent health outcomes and is a key social determinant of health, yet, contributors to school connectedness for youth from immigrant communities remain poorly defined.

Methods:

This community-based participatory research study uses thematic analysis to identify contributors to Somali, Latino, and Hmong (SLH) adolescents' school connectedness. We conducted nine focus groups with 71 SLH male and female adolescents, the majority aged 13–18 years, in a United States Midwestern metropolitan area.

Results:

SLH students described contributors to their school connectedness that fit within three broad themes: (1) SLH students desire to be known and supported by their teachers as individuals, (2) specific teacher instructional approaches reinforce or undermine SLH student–school connections, and (3) transparency and fairness in school disciplinary practices are especially important for promoting Latino student–school connectedness.

Conclusion:

SLH youth perspectives offer ways for educators to foster increased school connectedness to improve academic and health outcomes among increasingly diverse student populations.

Guidance or Gatekeeping: An Audit Examination of Racial Discrimination in Leading STEM High Schools: Systems that Marginalize BIPOC Youth Special Issue: Dismantling Oppression Series: Systems that Marginalize BIPOC Youth Special Issue: Dismantling Oppression Series

Racial discrimination remains a mechanism by which ethnic-racial minorities are restricted from power. We examined whether racial discrimination restricts ethnic-racial minority access to high-achieving STEM schools. We conducted an audit correspondence experiment to investigate racial discrimination in guidance counselor responsiveness to 976 emails from fictitious Asian, Black, Latina, and White mothers inquiring about school enrollment. Moderation analyses revealed that guidance counselors restricted access from Asian mothers at schools characterized as rural, lower socioeconomic status, and higher STEM prestige-evidence of gatekeeping points to the restriction of Asian students from advanced STEM opportunities. Results are situated within educational audit experiments to objectively document how racism from multiple facets of the education system intersect to inhibit ethnic-racial minority youth.

Buffering Effects of Racial Discrimination on School Engagement: The Role of Culturally Responsive Teachers and Caring School Police

BACKGROUND

Urban black adolescents' wellbeing in the early high school years can be negatively impacted by exposure to racial discrimination. These impacts may be buffered by supportive relationships with adults at school. We considered both the protective and promotive effects of culturally responsive teachers and caring school police on school engagement for students exposed to racial discrimination across settings.

METHOD

This study leveraged baseline student report from a sample of urban, predominantly black high school students with elevated teacher-rated levels of aggressive behavior (N = 397 9th graders; 91.2% black; 50.4% male; J = 10 schools). Using a path model with full-information maximum likelihood estimation, we examined the associations of racial discrimination, teacher cultural responsiveness, and school police caring in relation to school engagement and school disconnection, adjusting for covariates, including family racial socialization.

RESULTS

Frequency of racial discrimination was significantly associated with lower school engagement and greater school disconnection. Teacher cultural responsiveness was significantly, favorably associated with all outcomes. Police caring had no significant direct associations; however, there were moderation effects. When police caring was below average, increased racial discrimination was associated with significantly poorer attitudes toward school.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggested that students' perceptions of school police caring may buffer links between racial discrimination experiences and school disconnection. Moreover, students who perceive that their teachers are culturally responsive may feel more engaged at school. Interventions to promote teachers' and school police officers' cultural responsiveness and caring may improve engagement among at-risk urban youth who experience racial discrimination.

Performance and well-being of native and immigrant students. Comparative analysis based on PISA 2018

INTRODUCTION

The emotional, cultural, and economic changes involved in the process of coping with migration can be particularly difficult during adolescence. How education systems respond to the challenges posed by the flow of immigration has profound implications for society. One of the ways that students can demonstrate their adaptation to the education system is by their academic performance. In addition, in many education systems well-being has been shown to be directly related to performance. Therefore, this study aims at examine the differences between native and immigrant students in mathematics and science skills, and in well-being indicators evaluated in PISA 2018.

METHOD

We performed multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) based on the results of PISA 2018 evaluation, obtained from the official OECD database. The sample was 7099 Spanish students (49.5% girls; 50.5% boys), with a mean age of 15.83 years old (SD = 0.29). A little under half (42%) were native students, 35.5% were first generation-immigrant students, and 22.7% were second-generation immigrant students.

RESULTS

The native students demonstrated higher levels of mathematics and science skills than the two groups of immigrant students, and had significantly higher means in positive affect, self-efficacy-resilience, and feeling of belonging at school. Although life satisfaction was no different between the immigrant and native groups, the second-generation immigrants showed higher rates of positive affect, and a greater sense of belonging to the school than the first-generation immigrants.

CONCLUSIONS

We suggest future lines of research and the need to produce explanatory models that consider the complexity of migratory processes.

Family ethnic socialization predicts better academic outcomes via proactive coping with discrimination and increased self-efficacy

As the U.S. Latino youth population grows, understanding how family and individual resources may promote Latino adolescents' academic outcomes is important. The current investigation examined whether family ethnic socialization predicted adolescents' use of proactive strategies for coping with ethnic-racial discrimination and examined a potential pathway through which these contextual and individual resources may relate to educational outcomes. Drawing on data from a sample of Latino adolescents (n = 321; Mage = 15.31 years, SD = .76; 49.5% female), results of a cross-sectional structural equation model showed a double mediation of the relation between family ethnic socialization and GPA by proactive coping strategies and self-efficacy. Alternate models, limitations of the current investigation, and implications for future research are discussed.