ERIC Number: EJ1270691
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Nov
Pages: 33
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0272-4316
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Bidirectional Relationships between School Connectedness and Internalizing Symptoms during Early Adolescence
Klinck, Melanie; Vannucci, Anna; Ohannessian, Christine McCauley
Journal of Early Adolescence, v40 n9 p1336-1368 Nov 2020
School connectedness is an important feature to consider within the school environment because it likely accounts for why some youth thrive and others struggle with internalizing problems. Furthermore, internalizing problems typically do not occur in isolation of each other, but rather anxiety and depressive symptoms frequently co-occur and increase subsequent risk for each other. As such, the primary study objectives were to (a) evaluate the bidirectional relationships between school connectedness and internalizing symptoms and (b) examine whether being at high risk of an anxiety disorder or major depression moderated these relationships. Adolescents attending public middle schools (N = 1,344; 11-14 years; 51% female; 52% White) completed surveys in school at baseline and at a 6-month follow-up. Baseline anxiety disorder risk status moderated the relationships between school connectedness and internalizing symptoms. Among adolescents at low risk of an anxiety disorder, higher baseline school connectedness predicted improvements in depressive symptoms and, conversely, higher baseline depressive symptoms predicted lower school connectedness. School connectedness and depressive symptoms were unrelated among adolescents at high risk of an anxiety disorder. There were no significant associations between school connectedness and anxiety symptoms, regardless of baseline risk for major depression. Implications for school-based intervention strategies are discussed, such as fostering school connectedness and screening for internalizing problems.
Descriptors: Middle School Students, Early Adolescents, Student School Relationship, Student Adjustment, Emotional Adjustment, Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Anxiety Disorders, Depression (Psychology), At Risk Students, Intervention, Screening Tests
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A