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RI SurveyWorks

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Deborah N Pearlman, PhD

Kristin Grimone, BA

Rosemary Reilly-Chammat, EdD

Kristen Petrarca, MPA

Peg Votta

Presented by:

Hailee Dunn, PhD, MPH

(she/her)

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“Know a lot…

Curious. Aware. Honest. Respectful. Courageous.

...assume a little.”

The data I am going to be talking about today is high level data.

This type of data can be helpful for getting a birds eye view of whether people with certain characteristics may be experience things differently from groups who do not have those characteristics.

However, not all individuals who share a common characteristics will experience things in the same way. A major limitation of looking at data at a high level is that it often misses the complexities or combinations of characteristics that vary within groups of people who may share one or more characteristics (i.e., “intersectionality”) – for example, a student of color who identifies as gender expansive. Sharing and processing findings with those directly affected by disparities is critical for understanding these complexities and informing decisions in the service of social justice and health equity.

Today’s presentation is meant to help start or further inform those conversations.

Tips:

Be curious about the findings I am going to share today; try to let go of any preconceptions and jump to conclusions.

Be aware of your lens and how your experiencing shape your perspective and understanding..

Be honest with yourself and others; everyone has “blind spots”; acknowledging you may not know something is okay and opens you up to new perspectives and listening to others

Be respectful to others and their points of view.

Be courageous talking about the findings, and taking action – getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.

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PROJECT AWARE RI

Project AWARE’s mission is to create safe and secure school environments by:

Increasing awareness of mental health issues among school-aged youth

Providing training to adults to effectively respond to youth struggling with their mental health

Connecting youth and their families to services and supports for mental health

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Students

Increasing interest in how schools can better support kids experiencing problems with their mental health

What risk and protective factors are associated with students’ perceptions of support available in their schools if they are experiencing a problem?

Teachers

Does providing teachers with PD that increases their confidence responding to students experiencing MH problems help with how they manage their classrooms overall?

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2020 SurveyWorks Student Surveys

1 District

Grades 3-5 and 6-12 (n=12,922)

2021 SurveyWorks Teacher Survey

Statewide

36 Public School Districts (n=8,159)

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RISK FACTORS	aOR (Model 1)	aOR (Model 2)
Bullied (at school or electronic)	.99 (.93-1.07)	1.25 (.99-1.59)
Bullied (both forms)	1.00 (9.94-1.06)	1.20 (1.01-1.41)
Worried about school violence	.90 (.85-.95)	.87 (.76-1.00)
Witnessed a weapon	.82 (.77-.87)	1.01 (.87-1.17)
Been in a physical fight	.93 (.87-.99)	1.06 (.91-1.24)
Teen dating violence victimization	.60 (.58-.64)	.61 (.52-.72)
PROTECTIVE FACTORS
Connected to adults at school	-	2.19 (1.87-2.58)
Perceived trust in school	-	1.93 (1.68-2.21)
School belonging	-	1.27 (1.12-1.45)
Outside adult support	-	2.31 (2.07-2.58)

of youth in grades 6-12 report there is at least one adult they can talk to if having a problem

63%

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Students who report dating violence victimization are almost 40% less likely ([aOR] .61; 95% CI .52-.72) to perceive there is an adult at school they can talk to if experiencing a problem even when protective factors are present

Transgender youth are almost 50% less likely (aOR 0.53 95%CI .39-.73) to perceive there is someone they can talk to if experiencing a problem even when protective factors are present

Students of color are significantly less likely to perceive there is an adult they can talk to at school when protective factors are not present compared to when they are present

I’ll start by talking about what we found in the student data. We first looked at what risk factors may serve as barriers to students’ perception that there is an adult they can reach out to if experiencing a problem. Students who witnessed a weapon at school, had been in a fight, and report teen dating violence (TDV) victimization were less likely believe there was and adult at school they could reach out to. This was also true for students of color and transgender students.Then, we looked at whether the presence of certain protective factors would diminish those effects. We found that this was true for all factors except students who reported TDV and transgender students. Students who reported TDV victimization were almost 40% less likely to report there was at least one adult they could talk to.

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CHARACTERISTICS	aOR
PD increased confidence	1.59 (1.42-1.76)
Strong school leadership	1.66 (1.50-1.85)
Cultural awareness and action	2.52 (2.27-2.80)

of teachers agreed or strongly agreed they had received PD that helped them feel more confident responding to youth experiencing mental health problems

37%

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PD AND TEACHING EFFICACY

Teachers who receive PD that increased their confidence responding to YMH needs were 59% more likely to feel better about teaching overall

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When it came to the teacher data, as I mentioned before, we wanted to know if receiving professional development (PD) was associated with teachers feeling better about their ability to teacher overall. Teachers who received PD that increased their confidence responding to YMH needs were 59% more likely to feel better about their ability to teach overall compared to teachers who did not receive PD. We explored whether there were other types of school level factors that were associated with teachers feeling better about their ability to teach, including leadership support, and the extent to which they felt their school supported students in learning about, and confronting issues of race, ethnicity, and culture (i.e., “Cultural Awareness and Action” scale). Cultural awareness and action showed the strongest positive association with teaching efficacy.

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Students who trust in their school, feel connected, and that they belong, may be more likely to reach out for help when experiencing a problem

When these factors are not present, students of color, transgender students, and students experiencing dating violence may feel especially isolated

Even when these factors are present, transgender students and students experiencing dating violence may still require extra support

Providing professional development that addresses youth mental health may help educators feel more effective in their teaching overall

Also ensuring schools have strong leadership in place and provide culturally responsive climates may be especially important for responding to students’ MH and other needs

Generally speaking, people tend to be more trusting and have a greater sense of connection and belonging when they feel that others “get them.” Students are no exception. When students feel understood, they are more likely to open up about their mental health or other problems or reach out for support because a safe space has been created for them.

It is not necessarily about trying to put one’s self in a students’ shoes, but rather being able to walk alongside them.

In order or this to happen, you must know where a student is coming from in the first place.

What are their beliefs, values, lived experiences, traditions and so forth, and how do those factors shape the information they are communicating to you, verbally and non-verbally? And, how they understand and process the information you are communicating to them verbally and non-verbally?

Collectively, the findings I shared today offer some insight and perhaps reinforce the importance of explicitly cultivating culturally-responsiveness climates.

From a systems lens, what programs, policies, or practices need to change in order for this to happen…So students can feel safe and secure coming forward with their problems and teachers can feel fully equipped in their ability to support and appropriately refer them. What types of leadership structures need to be in place in order to support these changes?

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