Background: Food insecurity (FI) is a significant predictor of feelings of isolation in children, as well as suicide ideation and depression. Using a census of public middle school-aged children, we seek to determine whether FI is associated with suicide ideation and feelings of hopelessness and how individual and school community factors can…

School-based empowerment programs are types of interventions targeting students with or without behavioral, psychological, and emotional difficulties at schools. The purpose of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of a school-based social and mental empowerment program on students' behavioral and developmental problems. We…

The study is based on two waves of longitudinal data at ages 13 and 16 aimed to examine factors that explain psychosomatic and depressive symptoms at the age of 16. The sample is nationally representative involving 9000 individuals from the Swedish longitudinal Evaluation Through Follow up database born in 1998. A growth modeling approach was…

Early adolescence and the transition to middle school bring about many challenges for students and negative outcomes are not uncommon, including academic decline and social maladjustment. This developmental period is also marked by increased risk of mental health-related difficulties. Strengthening students' social and emotional competencies…

School attendance is a complex topic for all school stakeholders preparing students for college and career success. Students who refuse to attend or avoid school are affected or influenced by a myriad of reasons such as their own physical or mental health issues. This article explores the various factors at the root of school refusal, particularly…

Objective: There is limited empirical research investigating the relationship between well-being and academic achievement and existing studies are largely conducted using cross-sectional methodology constraining conclusions regarding causality. Method: This study conducted at a South Australian high school addresses this gap by longitudinally…

Background: Fathers can have a critical role to play in supporting the well-being of youth. However, little is known about how fathers perceive youth well-being. The Five Cs model of positive youth development was the theoretical starting point of this study, in part due to this framework's focus on the importance of bi-directional, person-context…

Middle school is a time of adjustments in youth: physical, intellectual, and social changes often result in stress. Middle school students are vulnerable to academic, behavioral, and mental health problems. Yoga is an Indian discipline practiced for health and relaxation. School-based yoga programs are becoming increasingly common given their…

The authors, youth leaders in Philadelphia and New York, believe that researchers can do a better job of listening to and including youth in their research. Since October 2021 they have been collecting essays from high school students (and some middle school and college students too) written during this time of community, national, and global…

The COVID-19 pandemic presented an opportunity for governments across Southeast Asia to reshape their approach to education so that children and adolescents are equipped with the necessary academic and socioemotional skills to live a rewarding life. By providing deeper insight into children's attitudes and values in well-being domains, this report…

Effective mental health services require accurate assessment of psychosocial impairments linked to mental health concerns. Youth who experience these impairments do so within and across various contexts (e.g., school, home). Youth may display symptoms of mental health concerns without co-occurring impairments, and vice versa. Yet, nearly all…

The negative consequences for victims and perpetrators of school violence are significant, multifaceted and, if left unchecked, can have personal costs that may last well into their adult lives. Universal violence preventive interventions may not be sufficiently effective in mitigating problems among middle school youth who exhibit risk of violent…

This poll was conducted between February 27-March 6, 2024 among a national sample of 1,002 Teens. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of Teens based on gender, age, race, and region. Results from the full survey have a measure of precision of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Among the…

Social determinants of health (SDOH)--conditions in which children live, learn, and play--affect child health and well-being. Publicly funded services in education and child welfare systems are important resources to support child well-being, but cross-system coordination is rare. Leveraging integrated administrative data from 60,287 6th graders…

Despite an increase in mental health needs for Black adolescents (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017; Moyer, 2018; Pettiti et al., 2017;) in the past few years, many middle schools in urban areas have not responded to the mental health demands that Black students require, and many urban school districts do not provide adequate…