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A Whole-Population Comparative Study of the School Experience and Its Association with Depressive Symptoms among Immigrant-Origin and Native Preadolescents

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Bibliographic Details
Title: A Whole-Population Comparative Study of the School Experience and Its Association with Depressive Symptoms among Immigrant-Origin and Native Preadolescents
Language: English
Authors: Rekar Abdulham (ORCID 0000-0003-2900-5203), Lauri Hietajärvi, Reija Klemetti, Kirsti Lonka
Source: Psychology in the Schools. 2025 62(4):1196-1216.
Availability: 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/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 21
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Grade 4
Intermediate Grades
Grade 5
Middle Schools
Descriptors: Depression (Psychology), Comparative Analysis, Immigrants, Mental Disorders, Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Educational Experience, Grade 4, Grade 5, Elementary School Students, Peer Groups, Incidence, Sense of Community, Social Integration, Risk, Student Surveys, Student Attitudes
DOI: 10.1002/pits.23385
ISSN: 0033-3085
1520-6807
Abstract: 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.
Abstractor: As Provided
Notes: http://findata.fi/en
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1461706
Database: ERIC
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Abstract: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.
ISSN:0033-3085
1520-6807
DOI:10.1002/pits.23385