RESUMO
Previous research has identified mental health symptoms such as depression and aggression as contributing factors associated with suicidal ideation and attempts in adolescence. However, much of this work has focused on older adolescents (ages > 14) resulting in a dearth of knowledge about early adolescents under 12 years. Moreover, much less is known about school connectedness as a protective factor in the relationship between mental health symptoms and suicidal behaviors. This study examined the interaction effect between school connectedness and mental health symptoms on suicidal behaviors among early adolescents aged 9-12 years. Data were drawn from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study and yielded an analytic sample (n = 2826) that was majority male (52%), Black (53%), and with an average age of 9.3 years. Data were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression. Among participants, 2% experienced suicidal ideation, and 2% experienced suicide attempts. Black adolescents were more than five times more likely to experience a suicide attempt compared to their White peers (AOR = 5.37; 95% CI = 1.71-16.95; p = .004). There was a significant interaction effect between withdrawn depressed symptoms and school connectedness (AOR = .95; 95% CI = .91-98; p = .006), and between aggressive behavior and school connectedness (AOR = 1.02; 95% CI = 1.01-1.03; p = .001) on suicide attempts. School connectedness did not moderate the relationship between mental health symptoms and suicidal ideation. The findings have important practical implications, which are discussed.
RESUMO
The deleterious and racially disparate health outcomes of COVID-19 have been on full display since the pandemic began in the United States; however, less exploration has been dedicated to understanding short- and long-term mental health outcomes for U.S. parents and their children as a result of COVID's impact on schooling. This cross-sectional study examined U.S. parents perspectives on COVID-19 stress as a moderating influence on the relationship between perceptions of school racial climate (i.e., intergroup interactions and campus racial socialization) and parent and child mental health outcomes. Participants were recruited from Prolific's online survey platform and included a sample of 397 U.S. parents (52% female, average age 40, 74% White) with a child between the ages of 6 and 17, enrolled in a K-12 public school setting during the 2020-2021 academic year. The results revealed that COVID-19 stress moderated the relationship between parents' perceptions of campus racial socialization and parent mental well-being. Parents who reported either low, moderate, or high levels of COVID-19 stress had improved mental health when racial socialization in their child's school was high. This impact was greater for parents with high levels of COVID-19 stress than with low levels of COVID-19 stress. However, parents' perceptions of COVID-19 stress did not moderate the relationship between school racial climate factors and child behavioral and emotional problems. Findings have important implications which are discussed.
