Positive school experiences and adolescent mental health

Abstract

Recent studies using brief positively focused measures of childhood experiences have shown that there are associations between cumulative positive childhood experiences (PCEs) and mental health. Interestingly, research in the field of school climate has likewise shown that a range of school experiences have been associated with adolescent mental health outcomes. However, to date no study has examined whether cumulative positive school experiences (PSEs) are associated with adolescent mental health outcomes. This study broadly investigates the relationships between cumulative PSEs and adolescent mental health. Moreover, given the lack of research that assesses the salience of cumulative PSEs in relation to adolescent mental health when compared to other PCEs, this study takes the opportunity to add to the knowledge base in this area. This thesis primarily utilised a cross-sectional quantitative correlational design to examine the relationships between cumulative PSEs, relevant covariate variables and current adolescent student mental health. Adolescent student mental health and childhood experiences data were collected by survey and subsequently linked to relevant adolescent covariate data which was collected via secondary means from post-primary schools. This study found that cumulative PSEs showed predictive associations with a range of adolescent mental health outcomes and were more salient in relation to adolescent mental health than other PCEs. Moreover, the study found that a brief positively focused measure of school experiences has the potential to support universal mental health screening in schools based on strong predictive relationships with adolescent mental health outcomes. The findings in this study suggest that those involved in the development of school policy and practice consider the importance of promoting the development of a strong base of cumulative PSEs for all students, as well as consider the utilisation of PSEs centred measures, with robust psychometric properties, to potentially support the universal screening of adolescent mental health risk.

Thesis is embargoed until 31 July 2027.

Date of Award	Jul 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Queen's University Belfast
Sponsors	Northern Ireland Department for the Economy
Supervisor	Lisa Bunting (Supervisor) & Paul Best (Supervisor)