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

Bullying experiences before and after the transition from lower to upper secondary school: associations with subsequent mental health in a Swedish cohort

BACKGROUND

Previous research has shown that exposure to bullying is linked to long-term adverse mental health consequences. However, prospective studies examining the persistence of bullying, using information from repeated time points, are limited. The aim of this study was to examine, firstly, the extent to which exposure to bullying among adolescents in Sweden changes between grades 9 (age 15-16) and 11 (age 17-18) (i.e., before and after the transition from lower to upper secondary school); secondly, whether being bullied in grade 9 or 11 is associated with depression and anxiety symptoms at age 20-21; and thirdly, if being bullied in both grade 9 and 11 is linked to an even higher likelihood of subsequent depression and anxiety symptoms. Potential differences by gender were investigated throughout.

METHODS

Data was derived from the Swedish cohort study Futura01 involving individuals attending grade 9 in the school year 2016/17 (n = 2323). We utilised self-reported information from three survey waves conducted in 2017, 2019, and 2022, and linked registry information on sociodemographic characteristics. Bullying was assessed using a single item in waves 1 and 2. Depression and anxiety symptoms were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) in wave 3. Gender stratified binary logistic regressions were performed.

RESULTS

Among those who were bullied in grade 9, 22.6% of males and 35.8% of females continued to experience bullying in grade 11. For females, exposure to bullying in grade 9 or 11 was associated with an increased likelihood of reporting depression and anxiety symptoms at age 20-21, with the highest odds for those bullied at both time points. For males, only one statistically significant association was identified - specifically, between being bullied in grade 9 and subsequent depression symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

For a majority of adolescents who experience bullying in lower secondary school, but not all, the transition to upper secondary school proves to be beneficial as the bullying typically does not persist. However, bullying can have long-term health effects, in particular for females. These findings emphasise the importance of effective measures to address bullying within schools.

Association between Community Violence, Disorder and School Environment with Bullying among School Adolescents in Sao Paulo - Brazil

The role of contextual-level factors in bullying is still not clear, and evidence is mostly from high-income countries. Our objective was to investigate the association between community violence, disorder, school environment and bullying among school adolescents. We used data from a representative sample of 9th grade Brazilian adolescents (n = 2108) from the Sao Paulo Project for the social development of children and adolescents (SP - PROSO). Multilevel logistic regression models stratified by sex were used to assess the association between variables at student and school/neighbourhood level and bullying victimization or perpetration. For both sexes, we found that adolescents who perceived high violence between students and high school disorder were more likely to be bullies and victims. Boys who perceived high community violence and disorder in their neighbourhood were more likely to be bullies (OR_3tertile = 2.73 CI95%: 1.57-4.74). Girls attending schools where the principal reported high community violence and disorder in the neighbourhood (OR_high = 10.24 CI95%: 2.11-49.59) and inside the school (OR_high = 6.83 CI95%: 1.48-31.56) were more likely to be bullies. Boys from schools whose principal perceived violence between students were less likely to be victims (OR_high = 0.35 CI95%: 0.16-0.78) and bullies (OR_high = 0.21 CI95%: 0.07-0.64). Girls attending schools with signs or posters about tolerance/gender equality and about violence were less (OR = 0.12 CI95%: 0.03-0.50) and more likely (OR = 25.88 CI95%: 4.28-156.63) to report being bullies, respectively. Community violence, disorder and school environment were associated with bullying victimization and perpetration among adolescents. Sex-specific associations should be further investigated. Prevention and management of school violence in adolescence should consider contextual-level characteristics.

Self-Reported Psychosomatic Complaints and Conduct Problems in Swedish Adolescents

Physical conditions in children and adolescents are often under reported during mainstream school years and may underlie mental health disorders. Additionally, comparisons between younger and older schoolchildren may shed light on developmental differences regarding the way in which physical conditions translate into conduct problems. The aim of the current study was to examine the incidence of psychosomatic complaints (PSC) in young and older adolescent boys and girls who also report conduct problems. A total of 3132 Swedish adolescents (age range 15-18 years, 47% boys) completed the Uppsala Life and Health Cross-Sectional Survey (LHS) at school. The LHS question scores were categorised by two researchers who independently identified questions that aligned with DSM-5 conduct disorder (CD) criteria and PSC. MANOVA assessed the effects of PSC, age, and gender on scores that aligned with the DSM criteria for CD. The main effects of gender, age, and PSC on the conduct problem scores were observed. Adolescents with higher PSC scores had higher conduct problem scores. Boys had higher serious violation of rules scores than girls, particularly older boys with higher PSC scores. Psychosomatic complaints could be a useful objective identifier for children and adolescents at risk of developing conduct disorders. This may be especially relevant when a reliance on a child's self-reporting of their behavior may not help to prevent a long-term disturbance to their quality of life.

Is positive school climate associated with better adolescent mental health? Longitudinal study of young people in England

Background and objectives

Studies suggest that individual student-reported connection to school is associated with better mental health. However, there is less evidence for associations between schools’ overall school climate and the mental health of their students. This may reflect limitations in which mental health outcomes have been examined. We conducted a large longitudinal study in schools, hypothesising that we would find associations at both the student and school levels between student-reported positive school climate, and reduced student conduct and emotional problems and improved mental wellbeing.

Methods

We tracked students in 20 English secondary schools from near the end of the first year of secondary school (age 11/12) over 3 years using reliable measures of school climate and mental health.

Results

We found associations between student-level reports of positive school climate at baseline, and reduced conduct and emotional problems and better mental wellbeing at 3-year follow-up adjusting for various potential confounders. We also found some evidence of adjusted associations between baseline school-level measures of overall positive climate and better student mental health at follow-up. However, these student- and school-level associations reduced considerably when also adjusting for baseline mental health.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that there are associations between school climate and student mental health at both the student and school level but these associations are complex and not necessarily causal.

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Previous studies provide little evidence that mental health differ between schools or is influenced by school climate.

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These studies' ability to identify school effects may have been undermined by choice of outcomes.

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Our study suggests that mental health may be better in schools with more student belonging.

The Role of Schools in Early Adolescents' Mental Health: Findings From the MYRIAD Study

OBJECTIVE

Recent studies suggest mental health in youths is deteriorating. The current policy in the United Kingdom emphasizes the role of schools for mental health promotion and prevention, but little data exist on what aspects of schools influence mental health in pupils. This study explored school-level influences on the mental health of young people in a large school-based sample from the United Kingdom.

METHOD

Baseline data from a large cluster randomized controlled trial collected between 2016 and 2018 from mainstream secondary schools selected to be representative in relation to their quality rating, size, deprivation, mixed or single-sex pupil population, and country were analyzed. Participants were pupils in their first or second year of secondary school. The study assessed whether school-level factors were associated with pupil mental health.

RESULTS

The study included 26,885 pupils (response rate = 90%; age range, 11‒14 years; 55% female) attending 85 schools in the United Kingdom. Schools accounted for 2.4% (95% CI: 2.0%‒2.8%; p < .0001) of the variation in psychopathology, 1.6% (95% CI: 1.2%‒2.1%; p < .0001) of depression, and 1.4% (95% CI: 1.0%‒1.7%; p < .0001) of well-being. Schools in urban locations, with a higher percentage of free school meals and of White British, were associated with poorer pupil mental health. A more positive school climate was associated with better mental health.

CONCLUSION

School-level variables, primarily related to contextual factors, characteristics of pupil population, and school climate, explain a small but significant amount of variability in mental health of young people. This information might be used to identify schools that are in need of more resources to support mental health of young people.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION INFORMATION

MYRIAD: My Resilience in Adolescence, a Study Examining the Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of a Mindfulness Training Programme in Schools Compared With Normal School Provision; https://www.isrctn.com/; 86619085.

Hospital admissions for stress-related presentations among school-aged adolescents during term time versus holidays in England: weekly time series and retrospective cross-sectional analysis

BACKGROUND

Schools are a potential stressor for adolescents and may contribute to emergency hospital admissions.

AIMS

We describe rates of stress-related presentations (SRPs) among school-aged adolescents (11-17 years) during school terms and holidays, and explore differences by age and gender.

METHOD

Using national administrative hospital data, we defined an SRP as an emergency hospital admission with a primary diagnosis related to pain, psychosomatic symptoms (e.g. fatigue) or mental health problems, or with self-harm indicated in any diagnostic position. We estimated incidence rate ratios for weekly SRPs in term time versus holidays from 2014-2015 to 2017-2018, using negative binomial regression models, stratified by age and gender. We estimated the cumulative incidence of any SRP between 11 and 17 years by analysing prior hospital admission histories of adolescents with an SRP in 2017-2018.

RESULTS

Over the 4-year study period, 305 491 SRPs in 171 013 school-aged adolescents accounted for 31% of emergency admissions for this group. SRPs were predominantly for mental health problems or self-harm (38%), or pain (35%). Weekly admission rates for SRPs were higher in term time than holidays for all ages (age-specific incidence rate ratios were 1.15-1.49 for girls and 1.08-1.60 for boys). Rates were highest for girls aged 14 and 15 years. The estimated cumulative incidence of any SRP between 11 and 17 years was 7.9% for girls and 4.1% for boys.

CONCLUSIONS

Hospital admissions for SRPs are common among adolescents, affecting around two girls and one boy in every classroom. Higher rates in term time than holidays suggest that school factors may contribute.

Teaching Socio-Emotional Competencies Among Primary School Students: Improving Conflict Resolution and Promoting Democratic Co-existence in Schools

Teaching socio-emotional skills among primary school students is the key to creating a climate of cooperation in classrooms and reducing disruptive or aggressive behaviors among students. The primary goal of this research is to present an educational proposal for imparting socio-emotional competencies among primary school students. We attempt to impart socio-emotional competencies based on: (1) fostering self-knowledge, self-esteem, and respect for others among students; (2) developing behaviors that allow them to perceive and express feelings and self-regulating emotions; and (3) developing assertive communication skills aimed at improving conflict resolution. This program has been designed in such a way that it is implemented throughout the academic year by organizing bi-monthly sessions of 45 min each, held until the completion of 15 sessions. The sample consists of 100 students in the third grade, with the control and experimental groups having an equal number of students (50 each). The instruments used for this research are: (a) BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory (Youth Version [BarOn EQ-i:YV]): used for measuring emotional and social functioning; (b) the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (MESSY): used for assessing social skills; and (c) Questionnaire for the Assessment of School Violence in Preschool and Primary School Questionnaire. To check the effectiveness of the educational intervention, a quasi-experimental design, along with pretest-posttest control group design, is used in accordance with the general linear model. Its effectiveness is also checked using repeated measures analysis of variance. The results show that the program is useful in preventing violent behaviors in the educational field and promoting the development of socio-emotional skills among third grade students. Finally, the applicability of the program to other educational contexts is discussed to enhance students' personal development and decrease the levels of violence found in primary school.

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.

Measuring School Climate among Japanese Students-Development of the Japan School Climate Inventory (JaSC)

School climate is a significant determinant of students' behavioral problems and academic achievement. In this study, we developed the Japan School Climate Inventory (JaSC) to see whether it measures school climate properly. To do so, we investigated whether or not the measurement with JaSC varies across sub-groups of varying grade and of gender and examined the relationship between the perception of school climate and the psychological and behavioral traits at individual levels in a sample of Japanese elementary and junior high school students (n = 1399; grade 4-9). The results showed that the measurement was consistent, since single-factor structures, factor loadings and thresholds of the items were found not to vary across sub-groups of the participants. The participants' perception of school climate was associated positively with quality of life, especially in school (β = 0.152, p < 0.001) and associated negatively with involvement in ijime (bullying) as "victim" and "bully/victim" (β = -0.098, p = 0.001; β = -0.188, p = 0.001, respectively) and peer relationship problems (β = -0.107, p = 0.025). JaSC was found to measure school climate consistently among varying populations of Japanese students, with satisfactory validity.

School Ethos and Recurring Sickness Absence: A Multilevel Study of Ninth-Grade Students in Stockholm

School absence has been identified as a severe problem in Sweden, both at the individual level and for society as a whole. Despite the multitude and complexity of reasons behind school absence, health-related problems are likely to be one important determinant. This indicates that knowledge about factors that may contribute to preventing health-related absence among students is relevant. The aim was to investigate whether a higher level of teacher-reported school ethos was associated with less recurring sickness absence among students. Data from four cross-sectional surveys performed in 2014 and 2016 were combined. The Stockholm School Survey was carried out among 9482 ninth-grade students (ages 15-16 years) in 150 school units, and the Stockholm Teacher Survey was performed among 2090 teachers in the same units. School ethos was operationalised by an index of 12 teacher-reported items that was aggregated to the school-level. Recurring student sickness absence was captured by self-reports and defined as absence on >10 occasions during the current school year. Two-level logistic regressions were performed. The results show that about 9.5% of the students reported recurring sickness absence. Students attending schools with higher levels of teacher-rated school ethos were less likely to reporting recurring sickness absence than those attending schools with lower levels of ethos, even when adjusting for potential confounders (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.65-0.97). In conclusion, recurring sickness absence was less common among students attending schools with higher levels of teacher-rated ethos. The findings suggest that schools may contribute to promoting student health.

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.

Class-Level School Performance and Life Satisfaction: Differential Sensitivity for Low- and High-Performing School-Aged Children

This study investigates whether class-level school performance affects students’ life satisfaction and if there are differential effects for high- and low-performing students. Data were derived from the National Educational Panel Study, including n = 5196 students (49.6% girls), nested in 478 classes and 250 secondary schools. School performance in class was measured by aggregating individual grade point average in Mathematics and German. The study could not reveal the “big-fish-little-pond”-effect regarding students’ life satisfaction but found differential effects for high- vs. low performing students. There was no significant association for low-performing students attending classes with higher class-level performance However, low-performing students revealed the lowest life satisfaction. High-performing students placed in classes with higher average performance reported lower life satisfaction compared to high-performing students in classes with lower average performance. This study provides evidence for the impact of the learning environment in class on school-aged children’s life satisfaction, by highlighting the differential sensitivity of high-performing students when placed in classes with higher or lower average performance.