School Connectedness Is an Underemphasized Parameter in Adolescent Mental Health: Results of a Community Prediction Study

Shochet, Ian M.; Dadds, Mark R.; Ham, David; Montague, Roslyn

doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp3502_1

Cited by 534 publications

(526 citation statements)

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“…Libbey, Ireland and Resnick (2002) found in their cross-sectional study negative associations between connectedness and emotional distress, with family connectedness showing the strongest negative relationship, followed by school, neighbourhood, and peer connectedness. In a similar study, Shochet et al (2006) examined the relationship between school connectedness and mental health difficulties in adolescents across time points: they found that school connectedness negatively correlated with concurrent mental health symptoms, and more importantly, it predicted changes in depressive symptoms, anxiety, and general functioning one year later. Hall-Lande et al (2007) reported that family connectedness was a very strong protective factor against suicide attempts, particularlyin adolescents who were socially isolated.…”

Section: Social Connectedness As a Protective Factormentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Connectedness Predicts Lower Loneliness and Depressive Symptoms over Time in Adolescents

Jose

Lim²

2014

OJD

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Although research has shown that loneliness in adolescents leads to higher rates of depressive symptoms, the presumed protective factor of social connectedness has not been studied in conjunction with these two constructs. The aim of the present study was to determine if social connectedness would predict lower loneliness and depressive symptoms over time in a large sample of adolescents. A large sample of adolescents (N = 1774; 9 -16 years at Time 1) were surveyed three times, separated by one year each, with self-report measures of social connectedness, loneliness, and depressive symptoms obtained. As expected, social connectedness was negatively associated with loneliness and depressive symptoms concurrently and longitudinally. Contrary to prediction, social connectedness did not function as a buffer between loneliness and depressive symptoms over time. However, consistent with prediction, a significant longitudinal mediation pattern was obtained over the three years: the effect of social connectedness on depressive symptoms was mediated by loneliness. Social connectedness at T1 predicted a reduction in loneliness at T2, which in turn predicted a reduction in depressive symptoms at T3. Moderation analyses of this mediation pattern suggested that this obtained mediation result was obtained for males, but not females, and obtained for older adolescents, but not for younger adolescents. The results are congruent with the view that social connectedness exerts an effective protective influence on adolescents against loneliness and depressive symptoms.

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Section: Social Connectedness As a Protective Factormentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Connectedness Predicts Lower Loneliness and Depressive Symptoms over Time in Adolescents

Jose

Lim²

2014

OJD

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“…Factors that appear to have protective effects against depression include higher self esteem (Allgood-Merten & Lewinsohn, 1990;Kandel & Davies, 1982;Lewinsohn, Roberts et al, 1994) and greater school connectedness (Shocet, Dadds, Ham, & Montague, 2006). Social support from parents and peers also buffers adolescents from depression (Galambos et al, 2004;Lewinsohn, Roberts et al, 1994;Windle, 1992), although some studies have reported this association for females but not males (e.g., Gutman & Sameroff, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk and protective factors associated with trajectories of depressed mood from adolescence to early adulthood.

Costello¹,

Swendsen²,

Rose³

et al. 2008

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

303

319

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This study used semi-parametric group-based modeling to explore unconditional and conditional trajectories of self-reported depressed mood from age 12 to 25. Drawing on data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N=11,559), four distinct trajectories were identified: no depressed mood, stable low depressed mood, early high declining depressed mood, and late escalating depressed mood. Baseline risk factors associated with greater likelihood of membership in depressed mood trajectory groups compared to the no depressed mood group included being female, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino American, or Asian American, lower SES, using alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs on a weekly basis, and delinquent behavior. Baseline protective factors associated with greater likelihood of membership in the no depressed mood group compared to the depressed mood trajectory groups included two-parent family structure, feeling connected to parents, peers, or school, and self esteem. With the exception of delinquent behavior, risk and protective factors also distinguished the likelihood of membership among several of the three depressed mood groups. The results add to basic etiologic research regarding developmental pathways of depressed mood in adolescence and young adulthood.

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“…10,12,13 Consistent with this idea, positive aspects of school socioeducational environments, such as good student-student and student-teacher relationships, teacher support, student connectedness, and classroom management practices, have been reported to reduce the risk of depressive symptomatology in students. [14][15][16][17] However, evidence regarding the association between school socioeducational environment and student depressive symptomatology is limited in several ways. 17 Most importantly, the large majority of studies have only examined the way students perceive their school environments in single-level designs.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

School Environment and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: A Multilevel Longitudinal Study

et al. 2013

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WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Research indicates that adolescents who perceive their school to have a positive socioeducational environment are at reduced risk of developing depressive symptoms. However, there is limited evidence that school environments can influence adolescent emotional health independently from individual perceptions. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:This multilevel longitudinal study shows that better school socioeducational environments, as assessed at the school level, reduce the prospective risk of depressive symptoms in adolescents. This association is shown to be independent from confounders and stronger in girls than boys. abstract OBJECTIVE: It remains unclear whether school environments can influence the emotional health of adolescents. In this large-scale prospective study, we use multilevel modeling to examine whether the school socioeducational environment contributes to the risk of developing depressive symptoms in secondary school students. METHODS:As part of a longitudinal study on school success in disadvantaged communities, 5262 adolescents from 71 secondary schools were followed annually. Socioeducational environment was assessed by a composite measure of social climate, learning opportunities, fairness and clarity of rules, and safety. Depressive symptoms were evaluated by using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale. Multilevel regressions tested the association between school socioeducational environment in grade 8 and depressive symptoms in grades 10 to 11, adjusting for previous depressive symptoms in grade 7 and potential confounders at the individual and school levels. RESULTS:Modest but significant variation in depressive symptoms was found between schools (intraclass correlation = 3.3%). School-level socioeducational environment in grade 8 was predictive of student depressive symptoms in grades 10 to 11, even after adjusting for potential school and individual confounders. This association was slightly stronger for girls. Student perceptions of school socioeducational environment were also predictive of depressive symptoms. Other schoollevel factors, including school size, were not predictive of depressive symptoms once socioeducational environment was taken into account. CONCLUSIONS:Adolescents who attend a secondary school with a better socioeducational environment are at reduced risk of developing depressive symptoms. School environments appear to have a greater influence on risk in adolescent girls than boys. Pediatrics 2013;131:e702-e708 AUTHORS:

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School Connectedness Is an Underemphasized Parameter in Adolescent Mental Health: Results of a Community Prediction Study

Cited by 534 publications

References 45 publications

Social Connectedness Predicts Lower Loneliness and Depressive Symptoms over Time in Adolescents

Social Connectedness Predicts Lower Loneliness and Depressive Symptoms over Time in Adolescents

Risk and protective factors associated with trajectories of depressed mood from adolescence to early adulthood.

School Environment and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: A Multilevel Longitudinal Study

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