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ERIC Number: EJ1461706
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Apr
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0033-3085
EISSN: EISSN-1520-6807
Available Date: 2025-02-09
A Whole-Population Comparative Study of the School Experience and Its Association with Depressive Symptoms among Immigrant-Origin and Native Preadolescents
Rekar Abdulhamed1,2; Lauri Hietajärvi1; Reija Klemetti2; Kirsti Lonka1,3
Psychology in the Schools, v62 n4 p1196-1216 2025
In European studies, immigrant-origin adolescents report more mental health symptoms than natives do. The school is an important developmental context for them, and more research is needed about how their school experience is related to their mental health symptoms, and whether these relations vary by group. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of depressive symptoms, and their association with the school experience among native and immigrant-origin preadolescents attending the fourth and fifth grades of primary school. Whole-population surveys of three time points (2017, 2019, 2021, N = 259,382, of which N = 14,930 immigrant-origin) were used. Immigrant-origin preadolescents were grouped by their birth country and their parents to first- and second-generation, and to forced and voluntary immigrant groups. Depressive symptoms were most often reported by first-generation immigrant preadolescents followed by their second generation counterparts. Sense of school belonging was the most important protective factor and bullying the most important risk factor in relation to depressive symptoms. Positive school experiences were more beneficial for the mental health of natives than their immigrant-origin counterparts. In turn, negative school experiences were more detrimental for the mental health of immigrant-origin preadolescents.
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www-wiley-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 4; Intermediate Grades; Grade 5; Middle Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Data File: URL: http://findata.fi/en/
Author Affiliations: 1Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; 2Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland; 3Optentia Research Focus Area, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa