The Interaction of Race and School-Connectedness in Presenting Internalizing and Externalizing Behavioral Problems Among Adolescents

Background

The feeling of school-connectedness has been reported as a protective factor for reducing problematic behaviors among adolescents. Race/ethnicity is also another factor related to both school-connectedness and behavioral outcomes. However, how race/ethnicity influences the association between school-connectedness and behavioral problems has not been fully studied. Considering the ecological system theory, this study aims to examine the association between school-connectedness and behavioral problems among adolescents and the moderation effects of race on the association.

Methods

This study used the Wave-6 of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, which is longitudinal on children and primary caregivers in the U.S. (N=655). Dependent variables were internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems measured by the Child Behavior Checklist. An independent variable was adolescents’ perceived school-connectedness that measured closeness, belongingness, happiness, and safety. Adolescents’ race/ethnicity was a moderator coded with White or racial minority. Control variables included adolescents’ gender, relationship with mother, family’s poverty level, and interview’s assessment of the caring home environment. Multiple regression analysis was performed to test the major hypotheses, along with the PROCESS program to probe the interaction effects using SPSS 24.

Results

The first regression model initially examined how students’ perception of school-connectedness was associated with internalizing behaviors (F(7, 638)=7.74, p<.001). Findings indicated that adolescents who reported a higher school-connectedness showed a lower level of internalizing behavioral problems (β=-.79, p<.001). White adolescents showed a higher level of internalizing behaviors compared to racial minority adolescents (β=0.96 p<.001).

Then the interaction between school-connectedness and race/ethnicity (being White) was added to the model. The model showed a significant moderation effect of race/ethnicity on the association of school-connectedness with internalizing behaviors (β =-.89, p<.05). Although the levels of school-connectedness were related to internalizing behaviors among both White and racial minority adolescents, the magnitude of the effects was significantly larger among White adolescents compared to minority counterparts (conditional effect=-1.538, p<.001 for White; conditional effect=-.648, p<.001 for minority adolescents).

The second model was initially constructed for examining the association of school-connectedness with externalizing behaviors (F(7, 636)=9.04, p<.001). Adolescents who reported a higher school-connectedness (β =-1.38, p<.001), who reported a closer relationship with a mother (β =-.44, p<.01), whose home provided more caring environments (β =-.16, p<.05), and whose family reported better financial status (β =-.17, p<.05) showed a lower level of externalizing behaviors. The interaction between school-connectedness and race/ethnicity was not significant.

Conclusions

The associations of a higher school-connectedness with a lower level of externalizing and internalizing behaviors suggest the need for providing adolescents with a safe and supportive school climate which increases their perception of connectedness to the school. Considering that there was no difference in the level of school-connectedness between racial groups, a moderation effect of race/ethnicity on internalizing behaviors implies the racial disparities in the school system. The racial climate, which is more favorable for White adolescents, may discourage racial minority adolescents to build trustful relationships and better utilize school resources to address their internalizing behaviors. For a better explanation of the racial differences in the dynamic, further study is recommended.