The association between school climate, brain structure and socioemotional functioning across family income levels.

• In Event: The Role of Community Contexts and Environmental Exposures in Brain Development

Abstract

Introduction: The school climate is a central developmental context that has important implications for children’s academic success and socioemotional functioning and may also serve as a protective factor in the context of adversity. Nevertheless, less is known about the neural mechanisms of such effects, as there is has been limited research concerning the relation between school climate and brain structure, particularly in regions relevant for mental health. Moreover, it is unknown whether the effects of school climate depend on children’s adversity level, particularly socioeconomic status (SES).

Methods: We addressed these questions in baseline data from the ABCD study (release 2.0.1), in a sample of n = 9,091 9-10 years olds meeting inclusion criteria. To measure school climate, we used a 4-item factor, identified via a cross-validation approach with items from the School Risk and Protective Factors Survey (Zucker et al, 2018), that captures the school’s opportunities for engagement, communication with parents/students, and use of positive reinforcement (CFA: CFI=0.96, RMSEA=0.09, SRMR=0.025). Family income was coded in three groups: low (<$50,000 per year), moderate ($50,000-100,000) and high (>$100,000). Socioemotional functioning was assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist and the BIS/BAS scale. T1-weighted brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to measure cortical thickness, cortical surface area, and subcortical volume for the whole brain and in 11 cortical and 6 subcortical regions of interest previously implicated in mental health. Linear mixed-effects models were used to examine the association between school climate and all outcomes, with a random intercept for ABCD site, adjusting for socio-demographic factors and correcting for multiple comparisons.

Results: A positive school climate was associated with lower internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and increased reward responsiveness, drive, and fun seeking, with no evidence of moderation by income (Figure 1a). There were no effects of school climate, nor interactions with income, for cortical thickness or subcortical volume. For cortical surface area, however, there was moderation by family income (Figure 1b and Table 1): there was an interaction between school climate and income for total cortical surface area (β = 3090.68, p = .013) and the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (β = 67.04, p = .033), along with either associations limited to the low-income group and/or trend-level interactions in 6 additional cortical areas. In all cases, there was a negative association between school climate and cortical surface area in the low-income group and null associations at other income levels (See Figure 1b).

Conclusion: School climate has an association with lower mental health symptoms and higher positive and approach-related behavior, in a manner that is equivalent across all income levels. However, a better school climate is associated with decreased cortical surface area in the whole brain, as well as in fronto-temporal cortical regions that have been previously associated with mental health symptoms, but only for the lowest income levels. This suggests that school environments may primarily play a role in brain development in the context of stress and adversity. Longitudinal data is needed to understand the role of such neural differences in socioemotional functioning over time.

Authors

• Daniel A Hackman, University of Southern California
  Presenting Author

• Lei Duan, University of Southern California
  Non-Presenting Author

• Emily E McConnell, Dartmouth College
  Non-Presenting Author

• Woo Jung Lee, University of Southern California
  Non-Presenting Author

• Arielle S Beak, Dartmouth College
  Non-Presenting Author

• David J. M. Kraemer, Dartmouth College
  Non-Presenting Author