The protective role of school connectedness in the relationship between child maltreatment and internalizing symptoms for White, Black, Latino/Hispanic, and multiracial youth

IF 3.4 2区心理学 Q1 FAMILY STUDIES

Child Abuse & Neglect Pub Date : 2025-03-11 DOI:10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107399

Yujeong Chang , Olivia D. Chang , Charis J. Stanek , Susan Yoon , Kathryn Maguire-Jack

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Child maltreatment is a public health concern associated with increased youth internalizing symptoms. School connectedness has been shown to play a protective role in the relationship between child maltreatment and externalizing symptoms; yet, its protective role on internalizing symptoms for youth in different racial/ethnic subgroups remains underexplored.

Objective

This study aimed to examine whether school connectedness buffers the effect of child maltreatment on internalizing symptoms for White, Black, Latino/Hispanic, and multiracial youth.

Participants and setting

Data were drawn from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a longitudinal birth cohort study in 20 US cities, comprising 3021 youth with maltreatment experiences.

Methods

Ordinary least squares regression models were conducted separately for racial/ethnic subgroups to examine the interaction effect between child maltreatment subtypes and school connectedness on internalizing symptoms (i.e., youth-reported depression/anxiety, caregiver-reported internalizing symptoms) for White, Black, Latino/Hispanic, and multiracial youth.

Results

School connectedness was generally associated with lower levels of youth internalizing symptoms for all racial/ethnic groups. Interaction effects suggested that, for White youth only, school connectedness moderated the relationship between psychological aggression and caregiver-reported youth internalizing symptoms (B = −1.46, p = .029) and physical assault and youth-reported depressive symptoms (B = −1.04, p = .044).

Conclusions

While school connectedness was linked to lower internalizing symptoms for all youth, its buffering effects against child maltreatment were less evident among minoritized racial/ethnic groups. Continued efforts should prioritize creating supportive school contexts to better serve the needs of racially/ethnically minoritized youth with maltreatment histories.

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来源期刊

Child Abuse & Neglect Multiple-

CiteScore

7.40

自引率

10.40%

发文量

397

期刊介绍： Official Publication of the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. Child Abuse & Neglect The International Journal, provides an international, multidisciplinary forum on all aspects of child abuse and neglect, with special emphasis on prevention and treatment; the scope extends further to all those aspects of life which either favor or hinder child development. While contributions will primarily be from the fields of psychology, psychiatry, social work, medicine, nursing, law enforcement, legislature, education, and anthropology, the Journal encourages the concerned lay individual and child-oriented advocate organizations to contribute.