Guided by the job demands-resources model and dual-factor model of mental health, this study used a mixed method survey to examine principals' experiences with job demands, resources, and their compassion fatigue and satisfaction in the context of postpandemic recovery based on a survey study conducted among 247 principals in California. Quantitative and qualitative analyses on survey responses suggested that staffing shortages, the spillover effect of COVID-19, the school community's needs, and workload were identified as top stressors. Regression and path analyses demonstrated a significant and positive association between stressors and compassion fatigue, while self-efficacy and professional support were significantly associated with increased compassion satisfaction among principals. Although district-level connectedness was not strongly associated with compassion fatigue and satisfaction, the positive association between stressors and compassion fatigue was intensified among principals who perceived a stronger sense of district connectedness. Moreover, qualitative analyses revealed that promoting connectedness at district levels via community of practices is one critical aspect of principals' needed professional support. The findings highlight the interactive and multifaceted nature of the association between principal's job demands and resources and their well-being. Practical and policy implications for improving the well-being and mental health of principals and stabilizing principal workforce during the postpandemic recovery were also discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Cultural-specific interventions often outperform standard protocols because they align with the identities and lived experiences of the youth they serve. For Black students, African-centered approaches have demonstrated improvements in social-emotional functioning, mental health, and school engagement. At the same time, growing public dissatisfaction with PK-12 education has fueled policy efforts to dismantle DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives, threatening access to culturally responsive interventions in schools. Given that schools remain the most common setting for youth mental health services, understanding the state of African-centered school-based interventions is essential. This systematic review identified nine school-based African-centered intervention studies published between 1970 and December 2024. Results indicate meaningful progress in program structure and documentation, including manualized interventions demonstrating consistent benefits for Black youth. However, variability in study design and measurement strategies limits conclusions regarding overall effect and magnitude. Findings indicate the need for stronger implementation of research, standardized outcome evaluation, and wider practitioner training. African-centered interventions represent a research-supported and culturally affirming avenue for advancing equity and well-being for Black students, particularly as DEI-related supports face increasing political restriction in U.S. schools. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
There has been a call to establish a nationally consistent school psychology workforce in Australia in response to the growing psychological needs of children and young people. Despite educational settings being the dominant practice setting for Australian psychologists after private practice, there is limited research focused on the specific skills and challenges of the school psychology role in the Australian context, especially in regional and remote areas. This qualitative study aimed to explore what specialist competencies are inherent to the school psychologist role and the challenges associated. Thirteen school psychologists with experience in urban, regional, and remote Australian locations participated in the study. Reflexive thematic analysis identified three themes: (a) system symbiosis, (b) pressure, and (c) adapt for longevity. These themes captured the experiences shared by psychologists as they enter the school psychology context and face unique challenges to which to adapt. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
The Student Wellbeing Teacher-Report Scale is a 12-item instrument with three subscales (i.e., academic, social, and emotional well-being) for assessing students' subjective well-being in school-based screenings. This study examined the factor structure, validity, and reliability of the Student Wellbeing Teacher-Report Scale within a multilevel framework using responses from 81 teachers about 1,910 students in the United States. Results from multilevel confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-factor correlated model at both the within- and between-teacher levels, with one item from the social well-being removed. Cross-level metric invariance was established, suggesting that school-specific well-being was conceptualized similarly at the individual and teacher/classroom levels. Results from multilevel structural equation modeling showed that each subscale had unique, significant associations with internalizing and externalizing behaviors at the within-teacher level. However, only the social well-being subscale was associated with externalizing behaviors at the between-teacher level. The three subscales demonstrated satisfactory internal reliability across levels, supported by multilevel α and ω coefficients ranging from .81 to .95. Overall, findings provide strong psychometric support for the Student Wellbeing Teacher-Report Scale with a social well-being item (i.e., handles frustrations well at school) removed as a school-based screener and highlight directions for further refinement and application in practice. It is important to note that the relatively small teacher sample size may have limited the ability to detect significant results at the teacher/classroom level. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
A pan-Canadian cluster randomized trial (by classroom) was conducted to examine the effects of a combined mental health literacy and dialectical behavior therapy skills program implemented by teachers on protective factors related to social and emotional well-being, including mindfulness, emotion regulation, inclusive education, distress tolerance, mental health knowledge, reduction of stigma, and help-seeking skills. The sample of 111 classrooms drawn from three urban centers and 67 schools, which were randomly assigned to intervention or control, included 1,750 students in third- to 12th-grade classrooms. Student-reported measures of mindfulness, emotion regulation, inclusive education, distress tolerance, mental health literacy, and classroom climate were collected three times in the year (October, February, and June). Teachers recorded dosage and fidelity data, and in-class observations took place to support implementation data. Results indicated the intervention classrooms demonstrated statistically significant improvements relative to the changes in the control classrooms on six of eight dependent variables: mindfulness, emotion regulation, impulse control, strategies, beliefs about mental illness, and stigma. Effect sizes were large for mindfulness, medium for emotion regulation and stigma, and small for impulse control and beliefs about mental illness. There was no evidence that intervention effects were moderated by intervention site, school level, or student characteristics related to Indigenous heritage, gender, or whether students received English language learner services. By contrast, the mid- to postintervention effect on mindfulness differed for students receiving special education services, such that effects were greater for students receiving special education services compared to students not receiving special education services. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
This study aimed to (a) examine the direct and indirect effects of social-emotional learning (SEL)-infused instruction on secondary student mental health through social-emotional skills (SEL) and student-to-student relationships and (b) explore the moderating role of peer victimization on this relationship. Cross-sectional data were collected from a racially and ethnically diverse sample of 546 students in sixth-12th grades from the southeast region of the United States. Participants completed electronic surveys of their peer victimization experiences, relationships with students, SEL skills, and exposure to SEL instruction. Reports of being exposed to SEL instruction were related to greater SEL skills and more positive relationships with peers. The association between exposure to SEL instruction and mental health difficulties was explained through both SEL skills and positive relationships with peers. This indirect effect of SEL skills was weaker for students who had experienced higher levels of peer victimization. This study highlights the crucial role of SEL instruction in improving student mental health by fostering SEL skills and positive peer relationships. However, the protective effects of SEL skills are weaker for students experiencing high levels of peer victimization, emphasizing the need for additional support. These findings reinforce the importance of tiered interventions to ensure SEL benefits all students, particularly those facing social challenges. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Efforts to improve preschool children's early literacy skills continue to intensify (e.g., Cabell et al., 2023; Wackerle-Hollman et al., 2024), often using tiered frameworks (e.g., response to intervention and pyramid model) to identify children needing intervention. Much research about early literacy interventions within tiered frameworks has overrepresented young Black children (i.e., 45% of participants; Stuckey et al., 2022). However, tiered frameworks can also be leveraged in ways that challenge deficit-oriented lenses often used by practitioners, schools, systems, and researchers when implementing such frameworks. Children's placement in a tiered framework was examined for fall and spring to identify strengths of 487 Black 3- and 4-year-old preschool children based on an early literacy screener, Get Ready to Read!-Revised. Estimated mean standard scores fell squarely in the average range, and the percentage of children identified for Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 at both fall and spring approximated the theoretical percentages proposed by researchers (e.g., Fuchs & Fuchs, 2006; Stoiber & Gettinger, 2016). Children's Get Ready to Read!-Revised performance aligned with diagnostic measures of receptive vocabulary, print knowledge, and phonological awareness. Results contribute to the limited research base about early literacy strengths of young Black children and have implications for school psychologists' contributions to the response to intervention process in preschools. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is widely used to support early identification, screening, and progress monitoring of students at risk for reading difficulties; however, CBM measures developed specifically for Arabic early literacy remain limited. The present study aimed to develop Arabic early literacy CBM measures and examine their technical adequacy and initial evidence of validity within Arabic instructional contexts. Specifically, the study evaluated whether CBM measures differentiate performance between first- and second-grade students and discriminate among students with differing levels of reading performance. Four CBM measures assessing letter-naming fluency, letter-sound fluency, phoneme segmentation fluency, and word-reading fluency were administered to 428 first- and second-grade Arabic-speaking students. Results indicated that the developed CBM measures showed high, clear differentiation of performance across grade levels, as well as discrimination among levels of reading performance. Collectively, these findings provide initial evidence supporting the technical adequacy of the Arabic CBM measures for use in early literacy screening and progress monitoring while underscoring the need for future research to accumulate stronger validity evidence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Research highlights the importance of the early identification of social, emotional, and behavioral concerns in young children; however, there are limitations regarding the usability and technical adequacy of available measures. The purpose of the present study was the initial development and validation of the Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener-Early Childhood measure, a novel tool designed to assess social, emotional, and behavioral functioning for preschool-aged children. Current analyses examined internal structure, reliability, concurrent validity, and diagnostic accuracy. Data were collected from 299 children, ages 2-6, and 42 educators from six early childhood centers in the Midwest and Southeastern regions of the United States. Results of a series of factor analyses provided support for a four-factor model and yielded adequate estimates of the internal consistency reliability of each factor. Correlational and receiver operating characteristic curve findings yielded strong support for the concurrent validity and diagnostic accuracy of the Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener-Early Childhood Total Behavior, Social Behavior, Early Learning Behavior, and Challenging Behavior scales relative to Devereux Early Childhood Assessment for Preschoolers-Second Edition scales. Less support was found for the Anxious Behavior scale. Limitations, implications for practice, and future directions are also discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Acceptability, defined as the perception that an intervention is appropriate, fair, and reasonable, is crucial to assess during implementation (Kazdin, 1981). Despite its original conceptualization as a dynamic process, repeated assessments have appeared in only a small fraction of intervention research. Previous studies did not report or analyze differences in acceptability across sessions. We know of no study analyzing the stability of acceptability ratings across sessions among elementary school students. The present study served as a proof of concept, implementing a 6-week performance feedback writing intervention with 45 fourth-grade students and assessing acceptability after each session. Related outcomes, including writing productivity and intervention comprehension, were also investigated. Results indicated that acceptability and comprehension did not significantly vary across sessions. A statistically significant within-student relationship emerged between writing productivity and acceptability, supporting the established relationship between intervention effectiveness and acceptability. Although students did not experience coordinated changes in acceptability between sessions, repeated measurements could highlight dynamic patterns in other interventions, particularly ones with more situational variation, rather than presuming acceptability is static. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Few studies have explored the co-occurrence of housing insecurity and educational disability among preK-12 students. Yet, both are the basis for legal entitlements to educational supports and protections and are often associated with unmet educational needs with far-ranging detriments to students' experiences; functioning; and academic, social, emotional, and health outcomes. This exploratory descriptive study used a state's education and homeless management information systems' data to examine the co-occurrence of disability and housing insecurity among 989,572 preK-12 students enrolled in Minnesota public or charter schools during the 2018-2019 school year. Differences by demographic characteristics and disability type were also explored. Of the students experiencing housing insecurity, 32.3% were identified as having an educational disability. Housing-insecure students were 63% more likely to be identified with a disability than students who did not experience housing insecurity. Students with an educational disability were more likely to be experiencing housing insecurity than those without an educational disability. Most students were identified as housing-insecure only by educational agencies. Patterns of over- and underrepresentation across demographic characteristics and disability categories suggest the need for future research to explore how systemic factors such as marginalization, interagency and interprofessional collaboration, professional preparation, and recent discontinuation of safety net programs may be associated with these youths' educational experiences, needs, and treatment. Findings also suggest that it is important for school psychologists to consider housing in/security when engaging in data-based decision making, student supports, and collaborative practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
The Family Check-Up (FCU) is a family-centered intervention that uses motivational interviewing (MI) to enhance parents' motivation for goal-directed change in parenting practices. The present study examined relations between FCU therapists' MI fidelity and (a) the proportion of parent change talk, (b) parent-reported positive parenting practices (proactive parenting and limit setting), and (c) parent- and teacher-reported child social, emotional, and behavioral concerns. Participants were a subsample of parents (n = 136) and teachers (n = 36) of children from the FCU intervention condition of a randomized controlled trial implemented at kindergarten entry. MI fidelity was measured in FCU feedback sessions with parents using the Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity Code 4.2.1. Binomial regression analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were performed to examine relations between MI fidelity and intervention outcomes. Results suggest that FCU therapists implemented MI with fair to good levels of fidelity. Several Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity summary scores were related to intervention outcomes. As hypothesized, Technical Global was associated with a higher proportion of parent change talk, Percent Complex Reflections was associated with higher parent-reported limit setting in first grade, and Total MI Nonadherent was associated with higher teacher-reported social, emotional, and behavioral concerns in first grade. Unexpectedly, Total MI Adherent was associated with a lower proportion of parent change talk. Taken together, findings suggest areas of MI fidelity that may be helpful to emphasize to maximize FCU efficacy. Implications for school psychology, study limitations, and future directions are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Test anxiety has been associated with educational and psychological well-being impairments, especially for girls. However, its stability over an academic year and the distribution of high test anxiety scores across students remain unclear. This study focuses on (a) identifying whether test anxiety levels vary across a school year and (b) assessing the proportion of students with stable, increasing, or decreasing test anxiety scores over a school year. A total of 527 students from Grades 10 and 11, attending five secondary schools in Quebec (Canada), completed two widely used test anxiety scales: The Spielberger's Test Anxiety Inventory and the Brief Friedben Test Anxiety Scale. The sample consisted predominantly of female students (69.2%), most of whom were French-speaking and born in Canada (77%). Multilevel regression results showed that test anxiety remained stable throughout the school year when analyzed as a continuous variable but varied for one of the two measures, the Brief Friedben Test Anxiety Scale, when analyzed as a dichotomous variable. A multilevel logistic regression analysis revealed that test anxiety remained stable for 71.3%-81.4% students, while 18.6%-28.7% experienced significant fluctuations. Gender differences in test anxiety levels remained consistent over time, with higher levels observed in girls compared with boys. The findings underscore the persistent nature of test anxiety and highlight the need for ongoing, tailored school-based interventions to support students' mental health and academic well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Teacher-student relationships (TSRs) are critical for student development, yet little is known about the role that malleable child-level skills and experiences play in shaping TSR quality among students with disabilities experiencing behavioral difficulties. This study examines how student experiences (e.g., classroom working alliance) and skills (i.e., social skills, internalizing/externalizing behaviors) relate to TSR quality as perceived by both teachers and students. Participants included 185 students with disabilities and 76 special education teachers across 50 schools. Multi-informant assessments and regression analyses revealed that working alliance, specific social skills, and externalizing problem behaviors were uniquely associated with both positive (e.g., trust, closeness) and negative (e.g., conflict, alienation) TSR dimensions. Importantly, working alliance emerged as a consistent predictor across both rater perspectives, while discrepancies between teacher and student perceptions highlighted the importance of using multi-informant approaches. Findings underscore the potential of interventions targeting alliance-building and social-emotional skills to enhance TSRs for students with elevated behavioral needs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Asian Americans generally and Asian American educators have experienced occupational stress during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as racism-related stress due to the uptick in anti-Asian hate. In this study, we validated the scores of a revised version of the Asian American Racism-related Stress Inventory and examined the experiences of racism-related stress as a result of anti-Asian discrimination and violence. This mixed methods study included 256 Asian American educators who completed a survey and 21 Asian American educators who participated in semistructured interviews. We conducted confirmatory factor analyses and other analyses to evaluate the psychometric properties of the revised Asian American Racism-related Stress Inventory scores. Results indicated that a second-order model with racism-related stress as the best supported higher order factor and three first-order factors: sociohistorical, general, and perpetual foreigner racism-related stress. Descriptive thematic analysis of semistructured interviews further revealed contextualized racialized experiences and associated racism-related stressors. These findings highlight the significance of stress stemming from racism and the distinct encounters Asian American educators experience in the context of anti-Asian hate. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Although task effort has been identified as an underlying factor in students' writing performance (Hier & Mahony, 2018), the relationship between elementary students' writing task effort and their writing performance has not been examined. This study investigated students' perceived task effort after each session of a class-wide writing intervention, examining whether it predicted postintervention writing performance. The sample included 88 third-grade students participating in a randomized controlled trial assessing the efficacy of a writing performance feedback intervention. Results indicated that students' task effort ratings remained consistently high throughout the intervention. Additionally, students' writing productivity increased from pre- to postintervention and higher task effort was significantly associated with increased writing productivity. Considerations regarding the use of students' self-reports of task effort, as well as the limitations of the study, are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Integrating widespread, low-burden approaches to facilitate connection to school-based care may be helpful in expanding mental health reach in schools. The present study describes students' use of a single-item self-referral process following a school-wide anonymous screener of mental health and substance use. The Substance Use and Risk Factor Survey included a school-based referral request item in 47 Massachusetts public middle and high schools in fall 2023 (N = 16,236; 47% girls; 4% gender diverse; 41% racially or ethnically marginalized or minoritized). Students who self-referred, in comparison to those who did not self-refer, endorsed more symptoms of depression and anxiety (Mself-referral = 3.7 [SD = 3.8], MnoReferral = 3.0 [SD = 3.3], p = .0001), psychoticlike experiences (Mself-referral = 1.1 [SD = 1.6], MnoReferral = 0.9 [SD = 1.4], p = .0004), emotional reactivity (Mself-referral = 24.4 [SD = 23.7], MnoReferral- = 20.8 [SD = 20.8], p = .001), and inattention and hyperactivity (Mself-referral = 0.8 [SD = .8], MnoReferral = 0.7 [SD = 0.7], p = .001). Students who self-referred were more likely to endorse a past-year suicide attempt (6.6% among self-referral group, 3.1% among the no-referral group; OR = 1.7, p = .02) and not talking to anyone (formal or informal mental health supports) about their mental health in the past year (31.4% self-referrals, 21.9% no referral; OR = 1.7, p < .001). Students who self-referred were also more likely to hold a minoritized gender identity (6.9% self-referrals, 3.9% no self-referrals; OR = 1.8, p = .012). School staff (N = 15) noted that the self-referral process was helpful (M = 3.87/5, SD = 1.27), and approximately half of the students requesting support (53.7%) were not already engaged in school-based mental health support. Self-referral requests following school-wide screeners may be a useful strategy to identify students experiencing mental health distress without supports in place. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
School climate has been of increasing concern in ensuring school safety and mitigating discipline disparities. Perceptions of school climate can differ across racial/ethnic groups. These differences in perceptions call for the exploration of other culturally relevant school climate dimensions. This study used exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to explore if hyper surveillance emerged as a unique component of school climate with a sample of 3,285 middle school students. Racial and gender differences across aspects of school climate were observed and are discussed within the context of understanding the importance of middle school students' perceptions. Findings reveal that middle school students perceive hyper surveillance as a distinct component of school climate separate from fairness, suggesting that this form of school climate might be particularly relevant to the school experiences of students of color. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Teachers are the most important factor in eliciting positive student outcomes. However, teacher stress and attrition are an increasing problem. This problem is exacerbated in high-needs schools, which serve students who are exposed to higher levels of risk factors and trauma. Due to the unique challenges faced by their students, teachers in these schools experience heightened rates of secondary traumatic stress (STS). What is unclear is how STS operates as a unique job demand contributing to teacher attrition. The present study surveyed 104 teachers in rural North Louisiana to determine the following: (a) What general mental health symptoms and degree of STS are teachers in high-needs rural schools experiencing? (b) Does STS contribute to teacher intent to leave the field? Study findings show that many teachers experience trauma exposure through their work, with approximately a quarter of those surveyed reporting that they were likely to leave their school or the profession in the next year. Additionally, a logistic regression found that STS significantly contributes to teacher intent to leave the profession. Implications of these emergent findings are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Although existing literature has focused on the impact of racial/ethnic discrimination on Chinese American youth mental health during the pandemic, less attention has been paid to the protective family-level processes that can buffer against such mental health risks. Guided by the dual-factor model of mental health and family systems theory, this study aimed to explore the role of affirming family communication in Chinese American youth mental health in the midst of racial discrimination. Participants were 205 Chinese American youth and their parents, who completed an online survey in the spring of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. By conducting a series of path analyses, we found that affirming family communication functions as a promotive factor that counteracts the negative impact of prepandemic peer discrimination on youth externalizing problems. However, the positive influences of affirming family communication on internalizing problems and subjective well-being were weakened when Chinese American youth faced high levels of COVID-19-related peer discrimination. The findings offer implications for school psychology practice by underscoring how to engage with families to promote youth mental health in the context of racial discrimination. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
