Mind the Gap: Investigating Relationships Amongst Racialization, Poor Mental Health, and Academic Performance in K-12

• In Event: Student Forum Roundtables Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Roundtable 7: Race and Racialization

Abstract

Objective: Various stakeholders are increasingly concerned with learning loss and widening achievement gaps revealed by recent assessments, particularly in cohorts most impacted by COVID19 social distancing measures. Discussions regarding how school-based experiences and relationships influence learning and wellbeing are increasingly valuable at this point, especially in considering a policy driven obsession over metrics (e.g. test scores, attendance, graduation rates). This study investigates the interconnectedness of racializing experiences, poor mental health, and academic performance demonstrated in a sample of ninth- through twelfth-grade students in the US.
Methods: The paper includes statistical analyses using data from the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). A six-point scale was created by combining responses to items demonstrating racialization (i.e. bullying, unfair discipline, and racial targeting) and a sixteen-point scale was created by combining responses to items regarding poor mental health quality (i.e. stress, anxiety, depression, suicidality). Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses are offered for both the overall sample (n=20,103) and a subsample containing students who listed any race besides ‘White’ (n=7,342).
Findings: The overall sample and subsample had relatively similar scores on the poor mental health scale (μ=2.866, x̄=2.862), and displayed the most pronounced difference between racialization scores (μ=0.930, x̄=1.180) and grades received (μ=4.046, x̄=3.943). Racialization had significant correlations with all investigated variables for both groups, the most pronounced link being to poor mental health which was stronger in the subsample. (r=0.329, r=0.370, p<0.01)
Conclusions: These disparities will likely persist–if not widen–without concerted effort to address interpersonal, institutional, and structural racism in our academic institutions, and expand opportunities and resources for the development of marginalized groups.

Author

• Taylor Hall, Wilkes University