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Longitudinal Association Between School Climate and Psychological Flexibility and Mental Health: A Random Intercept Cross Lagged Panel Model

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Previous research found the effect of school climate on students’ psychological distress. No longitudinal studies examined the effect of school climate on college students’ psychological flexibility and the possible mediating role of psychological flexibility between school climate and psychological distress. These were the primary purpose of the present study. Medical college students were recruited starting in September 2020; assessments were conducted at five points, with intervals of two months between each assessment. Self-reported questionnaires were completed by 210 college students (33.3% male and 66.7% female), with an average age of 20.62. The Perceived School Climate scale, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) were used to assess participants’ perceived school climate, psychological flexibility, and mental health (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress) respectively. The temporal directional relationship between study variables was analyzed using the random intercept cross-lagged panel model. There was a unidirectional positive effect from perceived school climate to psychological flexibility, and a unidirectional negative effect from perceived school climate to anxiety and depression. There was no directional effect between psychological flexibility and mental health at the within-person level, but at the between-person level, they were strongly associated. Furthermore, psychological flexibility did not mediate the relationship between perceived school climate and mental health. This study supported the bio-ecological theory and highlighted the importance of fostering a positive school climate to improve college students’ psychological flexibility and decrease their depression and anxiety.
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Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment (2024) 46:916–924
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-024-10151-2
Introduction
The World Health Organization has advocated for a coor-
dinated approach across sectors to improve adolescent
mental health and well-being, stressing that education is
vital among all the sectors that play a substantial role in
adolescent health (Dick & Ferguson, 2015). It is because
adolescents spend a signicant amount of time in school,
making it an ideal setting for reaching out to young people
and providing prevention, intervention, and care (Aldridge
& McChesney, 2018; Dick & Ferguson, 2015). Moreover,
school climate can be intentionally manipulated and adapted
to aect health-related variables, which can even counteract
the adverse impact on their development of other risk fac-
tors such as impoverishment or deprivation (Aldridge &
McChesney, 2018).
Dongyan Ding, Mengdie Pan and Qi Tang are the co-rst authors,
they have contributed equally to this work.
Dongyan Ding
ddy0558@126.com
Mengdie Pan
330310117@qq.com
Qi Tang
77056577@qq.com
Jing Zhang
1176604661@qq.com
1 School of Mental Health, Bengbu Medical University,
Bengbu, China
2 School of Health Management, Bengbu Medical University,
Bengbu, China
Abstract
Previous research found the eect of school climate on students’ psychological distress. No longitudinal studies examined
the eect of school climate on college students’ psychological exibility and the possible mediating role of psychologi-
cal exibility between school climate and psychological distress. These were the primary purpose of the present study.
Medical college students were recruited starting in September 2020; assessments were conducted at ve points, with
intervals of two months between each assessment. Self-reported questionnaires were completed by 210 college students
(33.3% male and 66.7% female), with an average age of 20.62. The Perceived School Climate scale, Acceptance and
Action Questionnaire-II, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) were used to assess participants’ perceived
school climate, psychological exibility, and mental health (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress) respectively. The temporal
directional relationship between study variables was analyzed using the random intercept cross-lagged panel model. There
was a unidirectional positive eect from perceived school climate to psychological exibility, and a unidirectional negative
eect from perceived school climate to anxiety and depression. There was no directional eect between psychological
exibility and mental health at the within-person level, but at the between-person level, they were strongly associated. Fur-
thermore, psychological exibility did not mediate the relationship between perceived school climate and mental health.
This study supported the bio-ecological theory and highlighted the importance of fostering a positive school climate to
improve college students’ psychological exibility and decrease their depression and anxiety.
Keywords School climate · Psychological exibility · Mental health · Longitudinal study · College students · Bio-
ecological theory
Accepted: 5 July 2024 / Published online: 26 August 2024
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024
Longitudinal Association Between School Climate and Psychological
Flexibility and Mental Health: A Random Intercept Cross Lagged Panel
Model
DongyanDing1· MengdiePan1· QiTang2· JingZhang1
1 3
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
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