Perceptions of School Climate and Psychological Functioning Among Black Youth: Do Sex and Income Matter?

Background & Purpose: Schools are crucial in shaping adolescents' development as they navigate social dynamics beyond their family circles. The school climate, which encompasses students' perceptions of the social environment, may be an important protective factor for adolescents. Studies indicate that Black adolescents often perceive a less positive school climate compared to their peers from other racial backgrounds, leading to increased vulnerability to negative psychological outcomes. Previous studies have found that positive school climate perceptions are associated with lower depression among Black adolescents, particularly among girls. However, much less is known about whether these associations differ by socioeconomic status (SES), which is an important question as prior work suggests that higher SES may be less protective for the well-being of Black adolescents. In this study, we examine the associations between school climate perception and depression among Black adolescents and whether these associations differ by child sex and by family and neighborhood SES.

Methods: We use longitudinal data from the Future of Families and Child Well-Being Study, a population-based birth cohort study of 5000 children born in large US cities between 1998 and 2000 and followed-up at ages 1, 3, 5, 9, and 15. Our sample is based on approximately 1700 Black adolescents who were interviewed at year 15 and provided information on their school climate perceptions and depression. We estimate linear regression models of the associations of school climate and depression, controlling for a rich set of child, parent, and family characteristics from prior waves, including children’s mental health at the prior wave. We then examine the moderating effects of child sex, family income, and census-tract median income.

Results: We find that more positive school climate perceptions were associated with lower depression, with stronger associations among girls. Family income did not moderate the association between school climate and depression for either boys or girls, indicating that a positive school climate can reduce depression for Black adolescents across all family income strata. However, the moderating effects of neighborhood income were more complex. Boys in the poorest neighborhoods did not at all benefit from a more positive school climate compared to those in higher-income neighborhoods. All girls benefited from a more positive school climate, but associations were stronger for those in higher-income neighborhoods.

Conclusions & Implications: Our findings revealed that more positive school climate perceptions were associated with lower depression among all Black youth, with stronger associations for girls, and differential effects across neighborhood-level SES. These results underscore the nuanced and complex nature of the moderating effects of SES among Black adolescents. Boys in the poorest neighborhoods, those who may be most at risk of poor mental health outcomes, benefit the least from a positive school climate compared to girls and compared to boys in higher-income neighborhoods. Overall, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of how school climate perceptions and family and neighborhood socioeconomic status influence the psychological well-being of Black adolescents during this critical life stage.