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A longitudinal study found that higher academic pressure at age 15 is associated with increased depressive symptoms and greater odds of self-harm through early adulthood.
States are reconsidering reporting chronic absenteeism to child protective services, emphasizing supportive interventions over punitive responses.
Teachers report rising behavioral challenges in young children, likely linked to pandemic disruptions and increased academic demands.
Research and Practice
The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health: The Association Between Academic Pressure and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms and Self-Harm: A Longitudinal, Prospective Study in England
Previous research has found a link between academic pressure, adolescent depression, and risk of self-harm. Using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, researchers examined over 4,700 adolescents ages 16 to 24 through self-assessments. Adolescents who reported higher levels of academic pressures at age 15 had higher depressive symptoms through 22, with respondents at 16 years old having the strongest association between depressive symptoms and academic pressure. A one-point increase in academic pressure at age 15 was associated with a 0.43-point increase in depressive symptoms. There was also a statistically significant correlation between higher academic pressure at age 15 and risk of self-harm between ages 16 through 24 years old, amounting to an eight percent higher odds of self-harm per each one-point increase in academic pressure. The findings support the need for educators and families to create interventions to reduce academic pressure and, therefore, decrease poor mental health symptoms.
See also: Longitudinal Relations Between Academic Performance and Life Satisfaction Among Elementary and Secondary School Students
The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry: Parent-Led CBT Delivered Via Online and Telephone Support Alongside Usual School Practice Versus Usual School Practice Only for Young Children Identified as at Risk for Anxiety Disorders Through Screening in Schools: A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial
A new study in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry aimed to compare the impact of a parent-led therapy program and a traditional school-based mental health program. Parents participated in an intervention, which allowed them to work on cognitive behavioral strategies to help their clinically anxious young children understand their anxiety and problem-solve together. Parents and children aged four to seven completed anxiety measures, and parents also completed follow-up questionnaires throughout the study. While there was no statistically significant difference between children who were diagnosed with anxiety disorders after 12 months in the school-based and the parent-led intervention, the latter reduced child anxiety symptoms, known risks for future anxiety disorders, anxiety-related inference (i.e., jumping to conclusions), externalizing symptoms (e.g., aggression), and parent and child behaviors. These results suggest that parent-led cognitive behavioral therapy supported via online and telephone communications is an effective method to deliver mental health supports to young children in an efficient and accessible way, which can provide long-term protection against future anxiety disorders and mental health diagnoses.
Policy
Politico: Trump Administration Expands Efforts to Dismantle the Education Department
On February 23, the U.S. Department of Education transferred school safety and family engagement programs to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The administration attempted to halt these grants last year due to conflicts with its priorities, but ultimately awarded funding. HHS will now administer hundreds of millions of dollars in government funding for school safety programs, such as supporting mental health providers and helping students recovering from traumatic events through the School Emergency Response to Violence Program. The department will also be in charge of the community schools program and Ready to Learn, which pays for public educational media for young children. On the transfer of responsibilities to HHS, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy shared, “HHS brings decades of frontline experience responding to crises and disasters… we will equip communities with the tools they need to protect students, support teachers, and keep families safe.”
The New York Times: A Child Misses 3 Weeks of School. Should Protective Services Step In?
School leaders and advocates across the country have debated whether child welfare officials should intervene after a student frequently misses school. In Nevada and Minnesota, school districts have stopped reporting chronic absenteeism to child protective services, and supporters want New York to adopt similar policies. Advocates of these initiatives believe that mandated reporting does little to solve issues of frequent absences and that teachers should instead report when students need more support. Half of all states do not enforce educational neglect as a reason to contact child welfare. School employees are mandated reporters, playing a vital role in helping to keep students safe. They make up one in five calls to child protective agencies, but most of their reports are not supported with an agency finding of abuse or neglect. In New York, calling child protective services is considered a “last resort,” as it can typically be traumatic for families, and chronic absenteeism may be due to many different underlying causes, rather than abuse or neglect. Schools can instead work more effectively with parents and social workers to address those causes.
Around the Nation
The Hechinger Report: Biting, Kicking, Wandering the Classroom: Teachers Say There’s a Rise in Misbehavior Even Among the Littlest Kids
Teachers across the country have reported increasingly severe behavioral problems in young children. Most experts believe that these behavioral problems are a result of the continued effects of the pandemic. One study found that children who had an early childhood education experience disrupted by the pandemic had more emotional problems and lower reading skills compared to those in more stable programs. Simultaneously, children are given harder academic tasks, less time for recess, and more exposure to technology than previous generations, which can lead to more mental health symptoms, aggression, and hyperactivity. Sixty-five percent of educators surveyed responded that they needed more training on classroom management. Educators have changed their approaches to teaching younger children, such as setting clear classroom procedures with their students at the beginning of the year. Some schools have focused on increasing discipline and reinforcing positive behavior, while others are creating restorative programs that encourage students to share their thoughts and perspectives to build community. See also: K-2 Suspensions Were Recently Banned in Nebraska. Now, Lawmakers Want to Go Back
K-12 Dive: More Students Have Access to School Counselors, Data Shows
The student-to-school counselor ratio has improved by one percent in the 2024-25 school year. This improvement has led to 529,000 more students having access to a school counselor compared to the 2023-24 school year. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends that schools have a 250-to-1 ratio of students and school counselors. For the first time, high schools have met this requirement, but not elementary and middle schools, with an average range of 195 to 224 students per counselor. Ratios also differ by state; Arizona has the highest student ratio of 570-to-1, and Vermont has the lowest with 172-to-1. Research has indicated that smaller student-counselor ratios are linked to better academic performance, attendance, and graduation rates, and lower discipline infractions. The ASCA Executive Director, Jill Cook, shared that “this year’s improvement in the national student-to-school-counselor ratio reflects meaningful progress, demonstrating how even small gains expand access for hundreds of thousands more young people.”
Chalkbeat: Trauma-Informed School Model Uses Calm to Prevent Conflict in Philly
W.D. Kelley School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is part of the Philadelphia Healthy, Healthy and Safe Schools (PHASeS) program, a trauma-informed initiative that supports students and teachers. The program is partially funded by Temple University and is on five campuses in the city. These schools have calming corners in most classrooms and a PHASeS room where students can visit with a trauma specialist to better regulate their emotions. The program provides staff with regular training, which helps teachers better understand the trauma their students are facing. Additionally, to serve students facing food insecurity, breakfast service was extended by two hours. In an evaluation led by Temple’s College of Education and Human Development, researchers found that three-quarters of educators reported that the program improved classroom learning, and 85% said it improved their own well-being. There was also a reduction in reports of fights, harassment, and disorderly conduct in two of three campuses.
