Somali, Latino, and Hmong Youth Perceptions of School Connectedness

Wilhelm, April K.; Bigelow, Martha; Hang, Mikow; Ortega, Luis; Pergament, Shannon; Allen, Michele

doi:10.1089/heq.2021.0095

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Therefore, perceiving teachers as prejudiced or biased toward them can engender confusion, mistrust, and hurt, which can lead to a diminished sense of connection and belonging in school. A recent qualitative study (Wilhelm et al, 2022) explored factors that contribute to school connectedness among immigrant youth and revealed that AA/Hmong high school students reported difficulty connecting with teachers whom they felt were biased or had negatively stereotyped them. However, when teachers showed even small gestures of curiosity, such as asking about a student’s interests outside the classroom, these students felt seen and affirmed of their identities, leading to positive teacher–student relationships.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term effects of the school context on depressive symptoms among Asian Americans.

Park,

Lee

2024

American Journal of Orthopsychiatry

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Despite the importance of the school environment for mental health outcomes, there is little research on how the school context during adolescence may impact depressive symptoms among Asian Americans (AAs) over time. The purpose of this study was to investigate (a) the long-term effects of perceived prejudice from peers and teachers on school belonging and depressive symptoms in adolescence, early young adulthood, and young adulthood among AAs and (b) the mediating effects of school belonging and two early depressive symptoms on the associations between perceived prejudice from peers and teachers and young adulthood depressive symptoms. The data came from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health. The present study used a subsample of 689 AAs who completed interviews during adolescence, young adulthood, and adulthood. The major data analysis strategy was structural equation modeling. The structural equation modeling results indicated that the major path coefficients from school context to depressive symptoms at the three time points for AAs were statistically significant, except for the path from adolescent depressive symptoms to young adulthood depressive symptoms. There were three significant mediating effects of school belonging and two early depressive symptoms on the association between perceived prejudice from teachers and young adulthood depressive symptoms in AAs. The results emphasize the importance of identifying school contextual risk factors leading to mental health disparities and developing culturally appropriate intervention strategies for AAs. Public Policy Relevance StatementAsian Americans showed a pathway from perceived prejudice from teachers to young adulthood depressive symptoms through school belonging and early depressive symptoms, indicating the long-term effects of school context and early depressive symptoms on later depressive symptoms. These findings emphasize the importance of fostering a fair and inclusive school environment and implementing culturally tailored interventions for Asian Americans' mental health and well-being. A dolescent mental health, especially depression, is an emerging social issue worldwide, which can disrupt adolescent developmental courses. According to the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, nearly one in five U.S. adolescents aged 12-17 (20.1% or 5 million people) reported a major depressive episode (MDE) in the past year, and one in three young adults aged 18-25 (33.7% or 11.3 million people) reported any mental illness in the past year (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2022). Adolescent depression is shaped by multiple social factors, especially racial prejudice, and discrimination is significantly associated with depressive symptoms among racial or ethnic minority adolescents (Y . Choi et al., 2020;Huynh et al., 2023).Asian Americans (AAs) are one of the fastest growing ethnic minority populations in the United States. The estimated number of AAs (i.e., Asian alone or in combination) has increased fro...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%