Protective Factors for Mental Health Concerns in Urban Middle School Students

Abstract

Addressing mental health in urban schools with youth who are often disadvantaged requires an understanding of protective individual and school contextual influences. Using hierarchical multiple regression analyses, we investigated school connectedness (SC) as a moderator between social skills (SS) and emotional/behavioral difficulties (ED/BD) among 319 urban middle school students (Grades 6-8; 65% self-identified as Black). SS levels predicted ED/BD. SC moderated the association between SS and mental health concerns. We address implications for school counseling practice.

The relation of social skills and school climate of diversity to children's life satisfaction: The mediating role of school connectedness

“…Anderson-Butcher et al (2013) reported the coefficient α of 0.76 for this measure among 2,360 third to sixth graders. The coefficient α was 0.72 in another study of middle school students (Carney, Kim, et al, 2018). The scale was significantly correlated to a related CAYCI-SES subscale, peer relationships (r = 0.57).…”

“…Social skills, as personal assets, refer to the ability to effectively engage in social interactions (Anderson-Butcher, Amorose, Iachini, & Ball, 2013). This asset enables children to experience positive interaction with adults and peers at school (Carney, Kim, Hazler, & Guo, 2018). Social skills have been identified as a critical contributor to student success such as enhanced academic achievement (Gresham, 2016) and lower psychological distress (Segrin, McNelis, & Swiatkowski, 2016).…”

Individual and Contextual Factors Associated With School Connectedness in the Context of Counseling in Schools

“…A growing body of research has revealed school connectedness as a powerful predictor of students' achievement in academic and other essential domains (e.g., Bryan et al, 2012;Carney, Kim, et al, 2018;Lapan et al, 2014;Smith & Sandhu, 2004), but little is known about its associated factors. An additional layer of the research gap pertains to mechanisms involved in school connectedness outcomes and grade-related variabilities during early adolescence.…”

“…A review of Liu et al the literature indicates a scarcity of information on students' school connectedness in early adolescence (i.e., elementary to early middle school stage). Most available studies tend to focus on school connectedness at the middle school level (e.g., Carney, Kim, et al, 2018;Lemberger et al, 2015;Oelsner et al, 2011), in high schools (Bryan et al, 2012), or during the transition from middle school to high school (Lester et al, 2013;Meisel & Colder, 2017). We found only one study (Lemberger & Clemens, 2012) that examined the incorporation of connectedness into school counseling interventions specifically for elementary school students from socially disadvantageous statuses.…”

“…School connectedness also contributes to decreases in students' risky behaviors, including substance abuse (e.g., LaRusso et al, 2008;Meisel & Colder, 2017;Monahan et al, 2010;Oelsner et al, 2011). Furthermore, research has shown it to be a predictor of students' academic and nonacademic outcomes (Lapan et al, 2014), mental health concerns (Carney, Kim, et al, 2018), and psychological adjustment (Lester et al, 2013). For example, numerous longitudinal studies (e.g., Lester et al, 2013;Reddy et al, 2003) found that school connectedness significantly predicted decreases in students' depressive and anxiety symptoms in later follow-ups.…”