Teachers' Perceptions of Student Mental Health in Eastern China: A Qualitative Study.

Min Yao,Yedong Wu,Paul I Kadetz,Cuiling Ma,Aissata Mahamadou Sidibe,Jiameng Li,Jinping Lyu,Therese Hesketh

doi:10.3390/ijerph18147271

Abstract

In China, primary and secondary school teachers, known as ban zhu ren, have pastoral responsibility for the students in their class. The aim of this preliminary study is to identify how ban zhu ren perceive the mental health of their students, and how they have acted on these perceptions. Content analysis was used to organize the data and distinguish categories or themes derived from in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted with 27 ban zhu ren from Zhejiang and Anhui provinces. Frequencies of informant responses were used to identify the areas of agreement and disagreement across identified categories and themes among the informants. The results illustrate that the informants consider issues, such as not paying attention in class (n = 14), not getting along well with classmates (n = 12), and excessive gaming (n = 11) to be indicative of mental illness, although these would commonly be considered normal adolescent behaviors. Fifteen informants admitted that they found it difficult to work with student mental health issues, and 18 felt they had inadequate or non-existent training. However, all informants stated that they had intervened with what they perceived to be students’ mental health issues, although only 9 informants had referred students for professional help. The informants reported that they were reluctant to provide referrals, due to the stigmatization they believed students would experience if given a diagnosis of mental illness. We conclude that among our informants there is a lack of agreement on what behavioral and mental health issues are, and that informants may be confusing what are, in actuality, non-conformist or non-compliant (yet often normal), adolescent behaviors with mental illness due to insufficient mental health training.

Highlights

In 2019, there were 1.2 billion adolescents, aged 10–19 years, representing 16% of the world’s population [1]
Informants reported having considerable difficulty working with student mental health issues, regardless of the informant’s age group, sex, or years working as a ban zhu ren
One of the responsibilities of ban zhu ren is to identify and manage students’ mental health, and all informants report having intervened with student mental health, 8 of the 27 informants claimed to have no mental health training at all, and 10 of the 19 informants who did receive training felt that the training was of little to no value

Summary

Introduction

In 2019, there were 1.2 billion adolescents, aged 10–19 years, representing 16% of the world’s population [1]. It is estimated that approximately 20% of the world’s adolescents experience mental health issues [2]. According to recent WHO data, the most common mental health problems for adolescents include emotional disorders, such as depression and anxiety, eating disorders, psychosis, and self-harm [3]. Mental health problems are the leading cause of disease burden among young people [4]. Mental illness in adolescents is reported to be increasing in many countries [6]. This is of particular concern because mental health issues during adolescence are known to be a predictor of long-term mental well-being [7]. Young People Who Are Experiencing Mental Health Issues.

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Discussion

Conclusion