School difficulties in immigrant adolescent students and roles of socioeconomic factors, unhealthy behaviours, and physical and mental health

Abstract

BackgroundSchool is a multi-cultural setting where students need social, material, physical, and mental resources to attain school achievement. But they are often lacking, especially for immigrant students. In an early adolescence context, this study assessed risk for school difficulties among European and non-European immigrants and the roles of socioeconomic characteristics, physical health, psychological health, social relationships, living environment, and unhealthy behaviours.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 1,559 middle-school adolescents from north-eastern France, who completed a self-administered questionnaire including socioeconomic characteristics (gender, age, family structure, father’s occupation, and family income), WHO-Quality of life (measuring the four dimensions physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and living environment), unhealthy behaviours (last-30-day uses of tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, and other illicit drugs and no regular sports/physical activities), grade repetition, low school performance (<10/20), and school dropout ideation at 16 years. Data were analyzed using logistic models.ResultsGrade repetition affected 14.8% of students, low school performance 8.2%, and school dropout ideation 3.9%. European immigrants had a higher risk for grade repetition only with a gender-age-adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 2.44, vs. French students. This odds ratio decreased to 1.76 (contribution 47%) with further adjustment for all confounders (family structure, father’s occupation, family income, physical health, psychological health, social relationships, living environment, and unhealthy behaviours). Non-European immigrants had a statistically higher risk for all grade repetition, low school performance, and school dropout ideation with ORs of 3.29, 3.02, and 3.42, respectively vs. French students. These odds ratios decreased to 1.76, 1.54, and 1.54, respectively (contributions 66%, 73%, and 78%) with further adjustment for all confounders.ConclusionsCompared with French students, European immigrant students were more affected only by grade repetition while non-European immigrant students by all grade repetition, low school performance, and school dropout ideation. The contribution of socioeconomic characteristics, physical health, psychological health, social relationships, living environment, and unhealthy behaviours was very high and much higher for non-European than for European immigrant students. Public policy should focus on these factors and services to reduce school difficulties.

Impact of sleep difficulty on single and repeated injuries in adolescents

“…For perceived income, subjects were asked whether the financial situation of their family was: coping but with difficulties/getting into debt/comfortable, well off or earning just enough; it has been used in adolescent and adult studies (Baumann et al, 2007;Chau et al, 2012Chau et al, , 2014.…”

Students' engagement in school and family variables: A literature review

“…Although the literature underlines the impact of peer group on student attitudes and behaviors, particularly during adolescence (Keefe & Berndt, 1996;Rubin, Bukowski, Parker, & Bowker, 2008), a substantial number of studies on student engagement in school have focused on adult influence (Gest, Rulison, Davidson, Welsh, & Domitrovich, 2008). Several aspects of family context have been considered, especially socioeconomic and sociocultural characteristics (Boxer, Goldstein, DeLorenzo, Savoy, & Mercado, 2011;Chau, Baumann, Kabuth, & Chau, 2012;Davis-Kean, 2005;Gohain, 2012;Parker et al, 2012), family relationships (Chen, 2008;Furrer & Skinner, 2003;Hughes & Kwok, 2007), students' perceptions of family support (N. Bowen & Bowen, 1998;Veiga, 2009;Wentzel, 1998), and parenting practices (Baumrind, 1983;SimonsMorton & Haynie, 2002;Simons-Morton & Chen, 2009;Steinberg & Morris, 2001). Grolnick and Slowiaczek (1994) described two different forms of involvement through which the influence of family may occur: direct influence, by intentional support and indirect influence, through the transmission of beliefs and modeling behavior.…”

“…A study carried out by Chau et al (2012) in France included European and non-European immigrant middle-school adolescents. In addition to risk behaviors and physical and mental health variables, these authors examined the role of several socioeconomic variables, including the father's occupation and family income, quality of life (as measured by the World Health Organization-Quality of life), grade repetition rates, academic performance, and school dropout ideation.…”

Perception of Learners on Parenting System and ITS Influence on Academic Performance among Secondary Schools Students of Bukonzo Country, Uganda

“…So the implication and contrasting results as revealed in these studies shows that achievement gap could as well be attributed to array of factors including, individual differences, relationships between parents themselves, relationship between parents and their children, the mix of economic and social advantages afforded by parents and intelligence of the child rather than the parenting style (Bornstein et al, 2012;Chau, Baumann, Kabuth, & Chau, 2012;Gohain, 2012).…”