The contribution of school experience to students' resilience following a terror‐related homicide

Abstract

Schools have a significant effect on students' development, and serve as important social agencies for interventions for students facing disasters. However, little is known about the effect of students' school experience itself on their resilience when facing extreme negative events. The present study focused on students who were exposed to terror‐related homicide with the aim of investigating the contribution of school climate resources to their resilience. Since resilience is associated not only with fewer negative outcomes, but also with positive change, the contribution of schools was studied as both inhibiting post‐traumatic stress symptoms (PTS) and enhancing post‐traumatic growth (PTG). A mixed‐methods research design was used. The participants included 117 (52% girls) high school students (mean age = 14.54; SD = 1.49). Twenty‐five of them were interviewed in addition to responding to the research questionnaires. Different aspects of the school climate were found to be associated with students' PTS and PTG, yielding two overarched factors explaining the school's role as a protective resource: sheltering and supporting. The former is associated with fewer PTS and the latter with higher PTG. The use of different resources for different forms of resilience is discussed.

Linking Teacher Injustice, Conscientiousness, and Academic Dishonesty via Classroom Connectedness: A Moderated-Mediation Model

“…Considering the knowledge gaps in academic dishonesty research, we adopt the theoretical viewpoint of the Conservation of Resources Theory (CoRT; Hobfoll, 1989) to study the influence of instructorship on academic dishonesty. Frequently applied to academia (e.g., Nelsen et al, 2021; Yablon & Itzhaky, 2021), CoRT explains the etiology of stress and predicts motivation and behavior (Hobfoll, 1989). The education sector is characterized by various stress-inducing stimuli, such as intense competition, rigorous learning, competing demands, and peer pressure.…”

Regulatory flexibility and school climate moderate the relationship between stress exposure and depression severity in school educators

“…The protective effect of regulatory flexibility adds to a growing body of research showing that regulatory flexibility moderates the relationship between exposure to aversive events and clinical symptoms in various populations, including active-duty first responders 38 , 40 , 46 . For example, active-duty firefighters with increased regulatory flexibility maintained lower PTSD symptoms across their service, whereas those with reduced regulatory flexibility showed increased symptoms across time and trauma exposure.…”

“…Repeated exposure to school-related stress 40 , 46 , 47 is a 10-item questionnaire that assesses the frequency of exposure to common school-related stressful incidents in an average month. The respondents were asked to rate their exposure frequency to each incident on a scale from 1 (not at all) to 6 (at least a few times a week).…”

“…Previous studies consistently demonstrated that a better school climate is associated with greater resilience and significantly fewer psychological problems 40 , 46 , 47 . Specifically, educators who work in schools with a better climate reported higher well-being than those who work in schools with a poor climate 46 . However, to date, no study has tested whether school climate moderates the relationship between levels of school-related stress and overall well-being or, specifically, depressive symptoms.…”

“…School climate reflects the school norms, values, interpersonal relationships, teaching and learning practices, and organizational structures and can be viewed as one of the external- interpersonal resources for educators 46 , 47 . Previous studies consistently demonstrated that a better school climate is associated with greater resilience and significantly fewer psychological problems 40 , 46 , 47 . Specifically, educators who work in schools with a better climate reported higher well-being than those who work in schools with a poor climate 46 .…”