The protective role of students' perceptions of school climate against mental health problems has been supported in previous research, yet relatively little is known about the mechanism underlying school climate's influence on Chinese youths' depressive symptoms. Guided by the process-person-context-time model, this study examined the mediating effect of psychological suzhi (a Chinese cultural construct comprising a hierarchical, integrated set of positive psychological qualities) on the longitudinal association between perceived school climate and depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents. Students (N = 1,151; 52.2% boys; mean [M]age = 16.24, standard deviation [SD] = 0.70) from one Chinese high school participated in a 3-wave (each wave was 6 months apart) longitudinal study. Multilevel mediation models were used to analyze between- and within-person effects on the longitudinal association between perceived school climate and depressive symptoms. The results indicated that students who perceived a more positive school climate reported lower depressive symptoms than students who perceived a more negative school climate (between-person effect); however, students who perceived their school climate positively did not always directly report lower depressive symptoms across time (within-person effect). Psychological suzhi mediated the association between perceived school climate and depressive symptoms at both the between- and within-person levels. Students who perceived a more positive school climate had increased psychological suzhi, which, in turn, decreased their depressive symptoms. The findings provided implications for school-based mental health prevention services by highlighting the need for promoting both positive school climate and students' psychological suzhi. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Students’ experiences of boredom at school are receiving increased research attention. Most inquiries to date have focused on how often students experience boredom in classroom situations and in specific subject areas. Despite its frequency, limited research efforts have explored how students’ boredom experiences might inform positive education initiatives. This paper examines students’ school boredom experiences from a positive education lens through which school mental health professionals can evaluate students’ school boredom experiences systematically. We introduce the School Boredom Mindset (SBM) concept that identifies a subset of high-risk students expressing unfavorable school attitudes. A preliminary analysis of 2,331 California secondary (Grades 7-12) students’ responses on well-being indicators explored the SBM’s viability. The findings show that students with the strongest SBM reported substantially lower well-being than their peers. The discussion offers suggestions for future research needed to evaluate the SBM concept’s meaning and the value of its contribution to positive education. While this research moves forward, we provide practitioners with resources to better evaluate students’ boring feelings at school and consider its meaning within the broader effort of fostering thriving well-being

Robust evidence links students’ positive mental health with academic achievement and provides a compelling rationale for developing and refining strength-based assessments. The Social Emotional Health Survey–Secondary (SEHS-S) assesses adolescents’ social and emotional skills and positive psychological dispositions. Previous studies provide reliability and validity evidence; nonetheless, there is a need for continued refinement and validation across diverse groups. The current study revised and standardized the updated SEHS-S-2020 to validate further its use in secondary schools (Grades 9–12) with a large, diverse adolescent sample. Study participants included 72,740 from 113 California schools (structural validation sample), 10,757 students from 15 randomly selected California schools (criterion validation sample), and 707 students from four additional California schools (test-retest sample). Data analyses examined structural validity, measurement invariance, criterion validity, internal consistency, and response stability. Results supported the SEHS-S-2020 validity across diverse groups of youth in various contexts. The discussion focuses on implications for assessing students’ psychosocial assets and universal school-based screening.

The Social Emotional Health Survey-Secondary (SEHS-S), which is a measure of core psychological assets based on a higher-order model of Covitality, is comprised of 36 items and four latent traits (with three measured subscales): belief in self (self-efficacy, self-awareness, and persistence), belief in others (school support, family coherence, and peer support), emotional competence (emotional regulation, behavioral self-control, and empathy), and engaged living (gratitude, zest, and optimism). Previous international studies have supported the psychometric properties of the SEHS-S. The present study extended this research by examining the psychometric properties of a Spanish-language adaptation with a sample of 1042 Spanish adolescents (M_age = 14.49, SD = 1.65.). Confirmatory factor analyses replicated the original factorial structure, with hierarchical omega between 0.66–0.93, with 0.94 for the total score. Factorial invariance across genders revealed small latent mean differences. A path model evaluated concurrent validity, which revealed a significant association between Covitality and bidimensional mental health (psychological distress and well-being). Specifically, correlational analyses showed a negative association with internalizing/externalizing symptoms, and positive associations with subjective well-being, health-related quality of life, and prosocial behaviors. This study provides an example of a culturally relevant adaptation of an international tool to measure student strengths, which is critical to planning school programming and policy.

This study investigated the psychometric properties of a Turkish-language adaptation of the Social and Emotional Health Survey–Secondary (SEHS-S), a measure of core psychological assets hypothesized to be associated with adolescents' flourishing mental health. Convenience samples of students (Grades 9–12) from six Turkish high schools were used; one sample had 402 students (45% male and 55% female) and the second sample had 452 students (44% male and 56% female). Using Sample 1, confirmatory factor analysis replicated the previously identified SEHS-S higher-order factor structure, consisting of 12 subscales that formed four first-order latent traits (belief-in-self, belief-in-others, emotional competence, and engaged living) and a second-order trait (covitality). Using Sample 2, additional validity analyses showed that covitality was positively correlated with psychological resilience and prosocial behaviors. There was a negative correlation with externalized and internalized psychological distress. Acceptable alpha reliability coefficients were found for the four SEHS-S domains (males = .74–.89; females = .75–.81) and the covitality total score (.89 for males and females). The findings supported the use of the SEHS-S as a valid and reliable measurement instrument for use in positive mental health research with Turkish adolescents and generalized the SEHS-S covitality measurement model to another cultural context.

Objective: Bullying is characterized by differences in power between targets and aggressors. This study examines how experiences with power dynamics in childhood bullying are associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety in college. Participants: First-year college students (N = 470) at four universities reported on childhood bullying victimization and power imbalance. Method: Participants completed an online survey in fall 2012 that assessed childhood bullying victimization and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Results: Students reporting childhood bullying victimization who indicated they were unable to defend themselves had greater symptoms of anxiety and depression than those who reported victimization but indicated they were able to defend themselves. Qualitative analyses explored why students perceived they could not defend themselves, including factors related to themselves and aggressors. Conclusion: For college students, feeling unable to defend oneself during childhood bullying victimization may be a focus for intervention and help explain diverse college outcomes associated with bullying victimization.