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

Abstract

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.

Cultural values, parenting and child adjustment in Sweden

“…Parents' warmth is directly positively related to their perceptions of children's agency, which in turn were related to lower child externalising and internalising problems and higher academic achievement (Gurdal et al, 2016). Other longitudinal research in Sweden has shown that children's perception of school disorder is associated with more internalising problems (Evans et al, 2020) and that mothers' previous and current depressive symptoms increase the risk of child behaviour problems in 12‐year‐olds (Agnafors et al, 2013).…”