Teacher Use of Recommended and Nonrecommended Strategies for Adolescents With Depression

• In Event: Staff and Systems Involved in Supporting Student Mental Health

Abstract

Introduction: Studies estimate that the 12-month prevalence of depression among U.S. adolescents is approximately 7-10% (Avenevoli et al., 2015; Mojtabai et al., 2016). As such, secondary school teachers are likely to have adolescents with depression in their classrooms. However, studies have found that teachers report limited knowledge of how to support students with depression, and other mental health problems (Kern et al., 2011; Reinke et al., 2011). Further, while strategies to support students with depression have been identified (Crudwell & Killu, 2010; Merrell, 2013), little is known about the extent to which teachers are implementing those strategies. This study uses vignette-based methods to identify strategies that teachers indicate they would use to support students with depression, and teacher and school characteristics associated with selection of strategies.

Method: Teachers (n=460) from a stratified random sample of middle or high schools throughout the United States completed an online survey (response rate = 36%). Each teacher read a vignette describing a student with depression (Author, 2018). Vignettes were randomized by student gender (male/female) and depression severity (moderate/severe). After reading the vignette, teachers indicated which of a list of strategies they would use to support the student (strategies were developed based on a review of the literature and focus group discussions, described elsewhere; Author, 2018). Next, we recruited school psychologist from the National Association of School Psychologists mailing list. School psychologists (N = 100; response rate = 20%) reviewed the same list of strategies and indicated whether they would recommend teachers use each to support students with depression. Based on these school psychologists’ ratings, we identified the five most highly recommended and five most non-recommended strategies.

Results: Teachers reported they were likely to use strategies recommended by school psychologists at a much higher rate (79-95%) than non-recommended strategies (9-61%). Teachers completing the severe vignette were more likely to indicate that they would use recommended strategies than teachers completing the moderate vignette (t-test=-2.176, p=0.03). Female teachers were more likely to report using recommended strategies than male teachers (t-test=-4.13, p=0.00). In schools where the racial composition of the student body was greater than 50% Black, teachers were more likely to indicate they would use non-recommended strategies (t-test=-2.30, p=0.02). In schools where teachers indicated they had established mental health policies, teachers were more likely to indicate they would use recommended strategies (t-test=-1.97, p=0.05). A series of regression models presenting the association between vignette factors, teacher demographics and school characteristics with use of recommended and non-recommended strategies will be ready for presentation by AERA 2021.

Significance: This study identifies factors associated with teacher reported likelihood of using recommended and non-recommended strategies for students with depression. A limitation is the use of vignettes, which do not provide information about the actual use of strategies, only reported likelihood of their use. However, results have implications for understanding how teachers describe their methods for supporting students with depression in classroom settings, which can inform recommendations for teacher professional development and collaboration with mental health providers.

Authors

• Becky Muller, Boston University

• Elizabeth A. Bettini, Boston University

• Jennifer Greif Green, Boston University