Estimating School Race/Ethnic Enrollment Effects on Student Mental Health: Density and Diversity as a Risk or Protective Factor

Melissa J DuPont-Reyes; Alice P Villatoro; Jo C Phelan; Kris Painter; Bruce G Link

doi:10.18865/ed.31.2.205

Estimating School Race/Ethnic Enrollment Effects on Student Mental Health: Density and Diversity as a Risk or Protective Factor

Ethn Dis. 2021 Apr 15;31(2):205-216. doi: 10.18865/ed.31.2.205. eCollection 2021 Spring.

Authors

Melissa J DuPont-Reyes¹, Alice P Villatoro², Jo C Phelan³, Kris Painter⁴, Bruce G Link⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.
² Latino Research Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX.
³ Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY.
⁴ National Institute of Independent Living, Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Washington, DC.
⁵ School of Public Policy, University of California, Riverside.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate effects of school race/ethnic enrollment on mental health in early adolescence by examining both race/ethnic density (percent non-Latinx [NL] White enrollment) and diversity (range/size of all race/ethnic groups enrolled). Variation by student race/ethnic identity is examined as minority stressors are uniquely experienced by race/ethnic minority students.

Design: Longitudinal cohort from a broader mental health study.

Setting: Fourteen schools in Texas (2011-2015).

Participants: Sixth-grade participants (mean age 11.5 years) linked to publicly available data about their school (N=389).

Main outcome measures: Self-reported depressive-anxious symptoms over a two-year period.

Methods: Generalized estimating equations tested main effects of density/diversity on depressive-anxious symptoms across student-reported race/ethnic identity, adjusting for student/school factors. Owing to statistically significant Latinx-group differences by acculturative stress, four unique identities were generated: NL-Black, low-stress Latinx, high-stress Latinx, and NL-White-referent. Points of convergence of student mental health profiles across density/diversity were explored.

Results: A significant interaction between density and student race/ethnicity was found (P<.01), with NL-Black and low-stress Latinx vs NL-White students experiencing higher symptoms over the two-year period, net of covariates. In contrast, greater diversity was associated with higher symptoms, net of controls (P<.05). A marginally significant interaction (P=.06) revealed fewer symptoms for high-stress Latinx vs NL-White students. At about 25%, NL-White density and diversity of .5-.6, all students experienced similar mental health profiles.

Conclusions: Greater NL-White density increases mental health risk for NL-Black and low-stress Latinx students, while school diversity lowers risk for high-stress Latinx students. These findings demonstrate how educational settings may produce or lessen minority stress.

Keywords: Adolescent; Mental Health; Race/Ethnic Density; Race/Ethnic Diversity; School Enrollment; School Health.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Child
Ethnicity*
Humans
Mental Health*
Minority Groups
Protective Factors
Schools
Students

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding