Citation

Evans BE, Kim Y, Hagquist C. J. Sch. Health 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Centre for Research on Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Karlstad University, Room 1D 274, Universitetsgatan 2, 651 88, Karlstad, Sweden.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, American School Health Association, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/josh.12904

PMID

32390172

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Internalizing problems have increased among Swedish adolescents. We examined whether classroom disorder was associated with internalizing problems and whether it explained the trends in internalizing problems. Furthermore, we examined whether school contextual factors were associated with internalizing problems and whether they moderated the association between classroom disorder and internalizing problems.

METHODS: We used repeated cross-sectional survey data (1988-2011) among all 15- to 16-year-old students in Värmland, Sweden (N = 9491 boys, N = 9313 girls). School-level factors were the proportions of students with a low/average socioeconomic or an immigration background.

RESULTS: Results from mixed effects models showed that classroom disorder was associated with internalizing problems across the years of investigation but did not explain the trends in internalizing problems. This association was moderated by the school-level proportion of students with a low/average socioeconomic background but not the school-level proportion of students with an immigration background.

CONCLUSIONS: Students who perceived their classroom to be disorderly more often also reported more internalizing problems. Future studies are necessary to investigate other potential school factors that may explain the trends in internalizing problems.

© 2020 The Authors. Journal of School Health published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American School Health Association.

Language: en

Keywords

adolescents; classroom climate; immigration background; internalizing problems; mental health; socioeconomic conditions