A Chance Lost in the Prevention of School Dropout? Teacher-Student Relationships Mediate the Effect of Mental Health Problems on Noncompletion of Upper-Secondary School

2017/04/05 by Solveig Holen, Trine Waaktaar, Åse Sagatun
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development #Early Childhood Education and Development #Youth Substance Use and School Attendance

paper · doi:10.1080/00313831.2017.1306801

crossref issued 2017/04/05 · crossref published 2017/04/05 · crossref published-online 2017/04/05 · openalex publication_date 2017/04/05 · crossref created 2017/04/05 · crossref published-print 2018/09/03 · crossref deposited 2020/10/04 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29 · crossref indexed 2026/07/30

Abstract

There is increasing awareness of the challenges that young people who do not complete upper-secondary school may encounter. The aim of the current study was to investigate teacher-student relationship as a possible mechanism to reduce the associations between mental health problems, grades, and subsequent noncompletion. Mental health problems and teacher-student relationships were assessed through students’ self-reports in 10th grade, and linked with Norwegian registries of education and sociodemography (n = 10,931). A dual-factor serial mediator model was specified, allowing the effect of mental health problems on school dropout to be mediated by the teacher-student relationship via school grades. Results indicated that teacher-student relationship is a potential mechanism to reduce the negative associations between mental health problems and later noncompletion. However, students with mental health problems seemed to experience less supportive teachers; therefore, interventions targeting teacher-student relationships may be required. The patterns were similar between genders.

Citations

• The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: A Research Note
• A practical guide to multilevel modeling
• Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis.
• The Reciprocal Links Between School Engagement, Youth Problem Behaviors, and School Dropout During Adolescence
• Social Support and Socioeconomic Status Predict Secondary Students' Grades and Educational Plans Indifferently Across Immigrant Group and Gender
• A longitudinal study of student–teacher relationship quality, difficult temperament, and risky behavior from childhood to early adolescence
• Dropping Out of High School: The Role of School Organization and Structure
• Teacher-Child Relationship and Behavior Problem Trajectories in Elementary School
• Sense of relatedness as a factor in children's academic engagement and performance.

Related

• How are Closeness and Conflict in Student–Teacher Relationships Associated with Demographic Factors, School Functioning and Mental Health in Norwegian Schoolchildren Aged 6–13?
• Teacher satisfaction with school and psychological well-being affects their readiness to help children with mental health problems
• From externalizing problems across primary school to dropout of upper secondary education: A cycle of maladaptation and social support
• Teachers' perceptions of the barriers to assessment of mental health in schools with implications for educational policy: A systematic review
• Intentions to quit, emotional support from teachers, and loneliness among peers: developmental trajectories and longitudinal associations in upper secondary school