School Connectedness Boosts Mental Health in Indigenous Adolescents With Adverse Childhood Experiences: Mediation Analysis of a Longitudinal Study in Australia.
Md Irteja Islam, Vaikunth Sia Cheruvu, Caitlin Laska and 2 others
PMID 40598908WHAT IT FOUND
In Indigenous adolescents, feeling connected to school was linked to both adverse childhood experiences and anxiety/depression, and it appeared to link them in public but not private/Catholic schools.
Adverse childhood experiences alone were not directly linked to anxiety/depression.
Key findings
01In the unadjusted total sample, adverse childhood experiences were significantly associated with school connectedness (p = 0.010), and school connectedness was significantly associated with anxiety/depression (p = 0.002).
02Adverse childhood experiences were not significantly associated with anxiety/depression directly (p = 0.744), but school connectedness was identified as a complete mediator in the unadjusted model.
03School connectedness showed partial mediation in public schools, but no mediating effect was found in private/Catholic schools.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
762 participants were excluded for missing data, which could bias the mediation result. Adverse childhood experiences, school connectedness and mental health were self-reported, so responses may be biased by memory or social desirability. ACE scores did not capture all adversities, including financial insecurity, loss, food insecurity, or intergenerational trauma. Findings apply only to Indigenous adolescents aged 12-17 in this cohort, not non-Indigenous groups, adults, or Indigenous Protected Areas. This was an observational cohort analysis, not a trial of a school-connectedness intervention.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. Funding: National Health and Medical Research Council. The underlying LSIC study was funded and managed by the Australian Government Department of Social Services.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that increasing school connectedness will treat anxiety or depression in Indigenous adolescents with adverse childhood experiences. This was an observational cohort analysis, not an intervention trial, and the mediation pattern differed by school type.