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<p>Schools play a crucial role in promoting adolescent well-being, yet the implementation and impact of mental health policies in schools vary widely. This study investigates variation in reported school policies across schools and examines how these policies are associated with students’ well-being and their perceived school climate. This study employed a cluster approach to analyze school-level data (n = 198) from the Flemish Prevention Survey, identifying distinct school clusters based on their mental health promotion policies aligned with the Health Promoting School framework. Next, a subsample of these school clusters was linked to students’ mental, social and physical well-being data and information on their perceived school climate (i.e., school satisfaction, schoolwork pressure, classmate- and teacher support) using data from the Flemish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (n = 3734) to examine associations between school mental health policies and student well-being, and perceived school climate. Two school clusters emerged. Both engaged in multiple mental health policies, however the first cluster (n = 123, 62.1% of schools) demonstrated a stronger focus on mental health promotion compared to the second cluster (n = 75, 37.9% of schools). Students in the first cluster reported significantly lower schoolwork pressure. No significant differences were observed between clusters in terms of mental, social, and physical well-being or other factors in the perceived school climate. The findings suggest that mental health policies in schools are negatively associated with schoolwork pressure among adolescents. However, broader impacts on mental, social, and physical well-being were not observed. The limited differences between school clusters, the cross-sectional design, and the complex, multifactorial nature of adolescent well-being likely contributed to the absence of differences between clusters. Future research should incorporate more specific measures of mental health policies and examine their implementation in practice, including how policies translate into concrete actions within schools.</p>

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Mental Health Policies in Secondary Schools and Their Impact on Student Well-Being and Perceived School Climate

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月14日

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  • Karen Schrijvers,
  • Barbara Willems,
  • Aafke Buyl,
  • Benedicte Deforche,
  • Maxim Dierckens

摘要

Schools play a crucial role in promoting adolescent well-being, yet the implementation and impact of mental health policies in schools vary widely. This study investigates variation in reported school policies across schools and examines how these policies are associated with students’ well-being and their perceived school climate. This study employed a cluster approach to analyze school-level data (n = 198) from the Flemish Prevention Survey, identifying distinct school clusters based on their mental health promotion policies aligned with the Health Promoting School framework. Next, a subsample of these school clusters was linked to students’ mental, social and physical well-being data and information on their perceived school climate (i.e., school satisfaction, schoolwork pressure, classmate- and teacher support) using data from the Flemish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (n = 3734) to examine associations between school mental health policies and student well-being, and perceived school climate. Two school clusters emerged. Both engaged in multiple mental health policies, however the first cluster (n = 123, 62.1% of schools) demonstrated a stronger focus on mental health promotion compared to the second cluster (n = 75, 37.9% of schools). Students in the first cluster reported significantly lower schoolwork pressure. No significant differences were observed between clusters in terms of mental, social, and physical well-being or other factors in the perceived school climate. The findings suggest that mental health policies in schools are negatively associated with schoolwork pressure among adolescents. However, broader impacts on mental, social, and physical well-being were not observed. The limited differences between school clusters, the cross-sectional design, and the complex, multifactorial nature of adolescent well-being likely contributed to the absence of differences between clusters. Future research should incorporate more specific measures of mental health policies and examine their implementation in practice, including how policies translate into concrete actions within schools.