Parental Socioeconomic Status Research Articles

Impacts of Extended Unemployment on Life Satisfaction of Young Adults Through Social Exclusion and Loneliness: Moderating Roles of Parental Socioeconomic Status

Impacts of Extended Unemployment on Life Satisfaction of Young Adults Through Social Exclusion and Loneliness: Moderating Roles of Parental Socioeconomic Status

Parenting styles as predictors to female students’ sexual promiscuity in tertiary institution in delta state

This study investigated the relationship between parenting styles and female students’ sexual promiscuity in tertiary institutions in Delta State. The study was led by two research questions and two hypotheses. The study used an ex-post facto research design with a correlational technique. The population comprised all female students of tertiary institutions in Delta Central Senatorial District with a total sample of 1,566 students. Questionnaire was used as instrument of data collection. The questionnaire was validated by experts’ judgement and factor analysis, with a sound psychometric property indicating that the instrument is valid and reliable. The data obtained were analysed with the aid of regression statistics at 0.05 level of significance. The result showed a significant relationship between parenting styles and sexual promiscuity and that the relationship can be moderated by socio-economic status of parents. The study recommended amongst others that Parents should improve on their relationship with their adolescents and choose the right parenting style that will help the adolescents to abstain from risky sexual behaviour.

Unequal effects of adolescent health behaviors on adult cardiometabolic conditions: a cohort study

Abstract Background Health behaviors in adolescence could have a life-long effect on cardiometabolic health and differ by parental socioeconomic conditions. Adopting a life course perspective and a causal inference framework, we aimed to quantify the differential effect of adolescent unhealthy behaviors on adult cardiometabolic conditions by parental financial situation. Methods Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health in the United States (n = 3,772), we estimated conditional causal effect by parental financial situation through inverse probability-weighted marginal structural models. Exposures were adolescent health behaviors (dietary habits, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity) and the effect modifier was parental financial situation (difficulty paying bills vs. no difficulty), both measured at ages 12-19 (1994-1995). Outcomes were cardiometabolic conditions (hypertension, stroke, cardiac failure, diabetes, chronic kidney disease), measured at ages 33 - 43 (2016-2018) using biomarkers and self-reports. Results There were 1,206 participants with cardiometabolic conditions after 20 years of follow-up. Alcohol consumption among adolescents with parental financial difficulty led to 325 more cardiometabolic cases (95% confidence interval: 2 - 647) compared to alcohol consumption by their peers without financial difficulty. This differential effect is driven more by cardiovascular conditions (hypertension, stroke, or cardiac failure) than by metabolic conditions (diabetes or chronic kidney disease). There were no differential effects of dietary habits, cigarette smoking and physical inactivity on the occurrence of adult cardiometabolic conditions. Conclusions Public health initiatives targeting alcohol consumption during adolescence could mitigate socioeconomic inequalities in adult cardiometabolic conditions. Key messages • Socioeconomically disadvantaged adolescents are more susceptible to the long-term detrimental health effects of alcohol consumption. • These susceptible groups may need targeted interventions to mitigate the cardiometabolic effect of alcohol consumption.

Data-driven prediction of early language delay at Youth Health Care Services in the Netherlands

Abstract Introduction Language development in early childhood significantly impacts future academic success, social interaction, and emotional well-being. This study aimed to develop and evaluate a prediction model using data on developmental milestones and parents’ socio-economic background known at age 2, and translate the results into an interactive digital dashboard and pilot it with Youth Health Care (YHC) professionals and parents. Methods A mixed-method study on retrospective cohort of children attending YHC at age 2, followed up until age 4. Data on language development, gender, parental education, and home language environment were obtained from YHC digital dossiers and linked to parental socio-economic status characteristics, and perinatal outcomes and healthcare costs using a secure remote access environment of Statistics Netherlands. Random forest and logistic regression models were computed with language development at age 4 as an outcome, initially using all available data at age 2 as predictors and then with a restricted model using variables readily available in YHC settings. Models performance was assessed using sensitivity, specificity, and AUC value. Results were visualized through an interactive dashboard and pilot-tested in simulated consultations. Results Among 9,148 children, 13.2% had language development delay at age 4. The full model had an AUC of 0.78, while the restricted model (gender, parental education, language environment, and language development), achieved an AUC of 0.77. YHC professionals and parents recognized the value of individualized, data-driven risk assessment for potential language delay to stimulate the discussion of preventive interventions. Conclusions A good quality prediction model for language development at age 4 can be derived from just a few background characteristics of the child and parents at age 2. The digital dashboard presents a practical approach of integrating prediction model results into daily YHC practice. Key messages • Language development at age of 4 can be predicted as early as age of 2 using just a few background characteristics of child and parents, which presents a window of opportunity for prevention. • The digital dashboard presents a practical approach of integrating prediction model results into preventive care practice.

Analysis of Children's Development Pathways based on Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory

Childhood is a critical stage in human life, during which an individual's cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development progresses rapidly. Early development is not only essential for children's future achievements but also plays a significant role in societal structure, economic growth, and cultural transmission. Promoting the holistic development of children is the responsibility not only of families and educational systems but also of society as a whole. This study, grounded in Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory, aims to analyze how various ecological system levels influence children's cognitive, emotional, and social development, and explores the impact of these systems' interactions on overall child growth. The research encompasses the microsystem (e.g., family and school), mesosystem (e.g., family-school interactions), exosystem (e.g., parental socioeconomic status and work environment), macrosystem (e.g., cultural background and social policies), and chronosystem (e.g., significant life events and historical context). The findings reveal that the interactions between these ecological systems play a pivotal role in children's development and influence their holistic development.

Selection and the economic value of education: A barrier to reducing the SES achievement gap?

AbstractDue to the role that schools play in determining the status of the future occupations of their children (i.e., the selection function of education), high socioeconomic status (SES) parents may not always be supportive of interventions that would reduce the SES achievement gap. In four experiments, we measured the support of parents (Ntotal = 1966) for implementing an equalizing (and, in Experiments 2 and 3, an inequality‐maintaining) intervention. In Experiments 1 and 2, a negative association between subjective SES and support for the equalizing intervention was found when the selection function was made salient, an effect that was also observed in Experiment 4 but only for Right‐leaning participants. In Experiment 3, where the salience of selection was held constant, we found a negative association between subjective SES and support for the equalizing intervention, but not the inequality‐maintaining intervention.

Parental Factors and Pupils’ School Readiness in Umuahia North Local Government Area, Abia State

This study investigated the influence of parental factors and pupils’ school readiness in Umuahia North Local Government Area. To achieve this purpose, three specific objectives and corresponding research questions were also raised to guide the study, three null hypotheses were postulated to guide the study and were tested at .05 level of significance. The descriptive survey research design was employed and used for this study. The population of the study was 4500 ECC II pupils with parents. Purposive and simple random sampling was used to select a sample size of 450 ECC II pupils with parents. Parental’ Factors Questionnaire (PFQ), for parents and Pupils’ School Readiness Rating Scale (PSRRS) for pupils were used as instruments for the study. The face and content validities of the instruments was determined by experts in Psychological Foundations of Education and Early Childhood Education. The Cronbach’s alpha statistical analysis was used to determine the reliability of instruments which yielded reliability indices of 0.73, 0.71 and 0.77 respectively. Mean analysis and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to test the null hypotheses. The study revealed that: there is a significant influence of parental styles, parental socio-economic status, and parental educational background on pupils’ school readiness in Umuahia North Local Government Area. Based on the findings of the study, the study recommended among others that parents should be encouraged to improve on their relationship with their children and choose the right parenting style that will help the children to behave positively in their readiness to adapt to school environment.

Deconstructing Cognitive Impairment in Psychosis With a Machine Learning Approach

Cognitive functioning is associated with various factors, such as age, sex, education, and childhood adversity, and is impaired in people with psychosis. In addition to specific effects of the disorder, cognitive impairments may reflect a greater exposure to general risk factors for poor cognition. To determine the extent that impairments in cognition in psychosis reflect risk factor exposures. This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between exposures and cognitive function using data from the Bipolar-Schizophrenia Network on Intermediate Phenotypes studies 1 and 2 across 6 sites. Participants included healthy controls; patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or bipolar I disorder with psychosis; and relatives of patients. Predictive modeling was performed using extreme gradient boosting regression to train a composite cognitive score prediction model with nested cross-validation. Shapley additive explanations values were used to examine the relationship between exposures and cognitive function. Exposures were chosen based on associations with cognition previously identified: age, sex, race and ethnicity, childhood adversity, education, parental education, parental socioeconomic status, parental age at birth, substance use, antipsychotic dose, and diagnosis. Cognition was assessed using the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia. A total of 3370 participants were included: 840 healthy controls, 709 patients with schizophrenia, 541 with schizoaffective disorder, 457 with bipolar I disorder with psychosis, and 823 relatives of patients. The mean (SD) age was 37.9 (13.3) years; 1887 were female (56%) and 1483 male (44%). The model predicted cognitive scores with high accuracy: out-of-sample Pearson correlation between predicted and observed cognitive composite score was r = 0.72 (SD = 0.03). Individuals with schizophrenia (z = -1.4), schizoaffective disorder (z = -1.2), and bipolar I disorder with psychosis (z = -0.5) all had significantly worse cognitive composite scores than controls. Factors other than diagnosis and medication accounted for much of this impairment (schizophrenia z = -0.73, schizoaffective disorder z = -0.64, bipolar I disorder with psychosis z = -0.13). Diagnosis accounted for a lesser proportion of this deficit (schizophrenia z = -0.29, schizoaffective disorder z = -0.15, bipolar I disorder with psychosis z = -0.13), and antipsychotic use accounted for a similar deficit across diagnostic groups (schizophrenia z = -0.37, schizoaffective disorder z = -0.33, bipolar I disorder with psychosis z = -0.26). This study found that transdiagnostic factors accounted for a meaningful share of the variance in cognitive functioning in psychosis. A significant proportion of the cognitive impairment in psychosis may reflect factors relevant to cognitive functioning in the general population. When considering interventions, a diagnosis-agnostic, symptom-targeted approach may therefore be appropriate.

Exploring the Link Between Parental Sociodemographic Characteristics and Multiple Births: Insights from National Birth Data in Japan, 1995-2020.

This present study investigated the parental characteristics of multiple births using national birth data in Japan. This study included birth data from Vital Statistics: Occupational and Industrial Aspects every five fiscal years from 1995 to 2020. The multiple birth rates were defined as the number of live-birth deliveries with multiple fetuses (e.g., twins, triplets) per total live-birth deliveries. Parental ages, nationalities, occupations and household occupation (occupation of the top earner of the household) were considered as parental characteristics. The multiple birth rates were calculated based on parental characteristics for each year, and a log-binomial regression model was used to assess the association between parental characteristics and multiple births. The multiple birth rate for Japanese mothers consistently exceeded that for non-Japanese mothers over the years, and the rate increased progressively from manual workers to lower non-manual workers and then to upper non-manual workers for both maternal and paternal occupations. The regression results indicated that the risk ratio (RR) for multiple births among non-Japanese mothers was significantly lower than that among Japanese mothers. Moreover, concerning household occupation, the RRs of self-employed individuals, full-time employees at smaller companies, others, and the unemployed were significantly lower than those of full-time employees at larger companies. Furthermore, the RRs of lower non-manual and manual workers were significantly lower than those of upper non-manual workers in maternal and paternal occupations. The results suggested an association between multiple births and parental socioeconomic status in Japan.

The transition to adulthood in Europe at the intersection of gender and parental socioeconomic status

The transition to adulthood in Europe at the intersection of gender and parental socioeconomic status

The role of the family’s ethnicity and correlates in social workers’ risk perceptions: Evidence from a vignette study in Hungary

Studies have shown that children from some ethnic minority families are disproportionately represented in the child protection system. Ethnic-based treatment is problematic because it challenges whether child protection decision-making is based on the principle of’the best interests of the child’. Roma children are also overrepresented in the child protection systems of many European countries, but little research has explored why this is so. The present study seeks to address this gap by examining child welfare workers’ perceptions of risk at the early stages of child protection decision-making. The main research question is whether they perceive higher levels of risk if the parents are Roma. Method: We use data from a vignette-based survey conducted among child welfare workers (N = 600) in Hungary in 2018. The factors influencing social workers’ risk perceptions are analysed using multilevel ordinal logistic regressions. The regression models of risk perception include case variables (harm to child, parents’ ethnicity, mother’s education, parents’ employment, housing conditions, living environment, parental alcoholism, mother’s willingness to cooperate), and the individual characteristics of the social worker. Ethnicity is examined individually as well as in interaction with other case characteristics. Results: Findings show that physical harm to the child, parental alcoholism, a messy living environment, and the non-cooperative behaviour of the mother increase the level of risk perceived by child welfare workers. There is no evidence of a statistical association between parental socioeconomic status and the social worker’s perception of risk. Family ethnicity also does not have a statistically significant impact on risk perception (main effect). However, some case characteristics affect risk perception differently when the family is of Roma origin (interaction effects). Physical abuse has a strong effect on the social worker’s perception of risk, but this effect is more modest when the family is of Roma origin. Likewise, the mother’s non-cooperative behaviour is a risk-increasing factor, but this effect disappears for Roma families. Conclusions: Although, no ethnic bias was found in social workers’ perception of risk, our findings indicate that the perception of risk for Roma families is less dependent on the circumstances of the case than for majority families. In some cases, this may lead to an unjustified overestimation of risk or, conversely, an underestimation when the family is Roma.

Abstract A162: The influence of parental barriers to healthcare on adolescent HPV vaccination uptake and completion among Latinos in Los Angeles

Abstract Objective: This study aims to investigate the association between parental barriers to healthcare access and HPV vaccination uptake among Latino adolescents in Los Angeles. Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) induced cervical cancer (CC) remains a significant public health concern. Routine HPV vaccination has been recommended in the United States for girls since 2006 and boys since 2011 yet disparities in vaccine initiation and completion persist, particularly among Latino adolescents in Los Angeles. Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed child data provided by mothers recruited from the Es Tiempo campaign (2016-2018). A total of 353 Latino adolescents aged 9 to 26 years were included in the sample. We used crosstabs to assess vaccine initiation and completion differences by child sex and birth order, while logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between parental barriers to healthcare, such as lack of health insurance and access to a primary care provider (PCP), and HPV vaccination initiation. Results: Among the sample, 44% initiated the HPV vaccine, and 23% completed the series, with significantly higher rates among girls and firstborn children. Regarding barriers, lack of health insurance was associated with decreased odds of HPV vaccination uptake while access to a PCP showed a slight increase in vaccination uptake odds. Conclusion: HPV vaccination uptake among Latino adolescents in Los Angeles remains suboptimal, with disparities observed by gender and birth order. To improve public health outcomes, targeted interventions are needed to increase HPV vaccination uptake among Latino adolescent boys, and further research is needed to understand vaccine adherence patterns within families and among siblings. Moreover, while parental barriers to healthcare may influence vaccination uptake, future studies should also explore how factors like parental education level and socioeconomic status influence HPV vaccination status in combination with access barriers. Citation Format: Anju F. Kane, Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati. The influence of parental barriers to healthcare on adolescent HPV vaccination uptake and completion among Latinos in Los Angeles [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 17th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2024 Sep 21-24; Los Angeles, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2024;33(9 Suppl):Abstract nr A162.

Parental Socioeconomic Status and an Infant’s Risk of Hospital Admission for RSV

Abstract Background While clinical risk factors for RSV bronchiolitis are well established, data on socioeconomic risk factors is lacking. We explored the association of parental education, income, and employment status on an infant’s risk of hospitalization for RSV bronchiolitis. Methods This population-based retrospective case-control study covered all RSV-related hospital admissions of under 1-year old children in Finland between 2004 and 2018. Controls were matched by month and year of birth, sex, province of residence, and family size. Registry data were linked using unique personal identity codes. Cases and controls were compared using adjusted odds-ratios (aOR) calculated for socioeconomic outcomes including maternal and paternal education, household income, and parental employment. Results A total of 10 767 infants and 50 054 controls were included in the study. Lower parental education significantly raised the risk for RSV hospital admission in infants, the risk growing with decreasing education levels; aOR 1.03 (0.96-1.09) with post-secondary education, 1.12 (1.05-1.2) with secondary education, and 1.33 (1.2-1.47) with primary education. Combined parental income was not significant: aOR 0.97 (CI 0.91-1.05), 1.02 (CI 0.95-1.1), 1(CI 0.92-1.08) and 0.94 (CI 0.85-1.04), respectively with decreasing income level. Unemployment of both parents seemed to be a risk factor for the child’s RSV hospital admission, aOR 1.24 (1.12-1.38). Conclusions Lower parental socioeconomic status may increase the risk of an infant’s RSV hospitalization. Socioeconomic risk factors should be considered when designing RSV infection primary prevention strategies.

Parental digital mediation: Restriction and enablement during the COVID-19 lockdown among low SES parents in Lima, Peru

ABSTRACT Physical distancing and lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial impact on families’ lives, especially those from socioeconomically vulnerable backgrounds. In this context, fast-paced digitalization occurred in significant areas of everyday life, including school education, entertainment, socialization, and work. The literature reports on binary typology of parental mediation: restrictive and enabling; few studies shed light on the joint application of these strategies. This article focuses on how these two strategies are used together within the context of the pandemic among low socioeconomic status (SES) parents of Lima. Thirty parents (29 mothers and 1 father) with children between the ages of 6–11 participated in a 5-day digital mediation report preceded and followed by two semi-structured interviews. The study approaches parental mediation from a contextualized perspective wherein mediation strategies are dynamic, and restrictive and enabling strategies can coexist.

Towards a better understanding of inequity and the psychological processes underlying the intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic status

As poverty in the U.S. is increasing and the income gap continues to rise, addressing disparities in socioeconomic status (SES) has become a national priority. This study employs the Interactionist Model, a well-established theoretical framework for examining the intergenerational transmission of SES. Specifically, using longitudinal data from a sample of 998 adolescents, 47.2% of whom are females, from diverse ethnic backgrounds, we investigated how parents' SES influences both their material and immaterial resources, and subsequently affects their offspring's SES through inhibitory control during adolescence. Our findings support an indirect effect wherein parental SES influences the SES of the next generation via parental material and immaterial investments. Additionally, we demonstrate that immaterial investments influence the next generation's SES, mediated by inhibitory control. The implications of these findings are further discussed.

Parental Investment, Status, and Child Gender: Some Evidence for the Trivers–Willard Hypothesis from a Survey Experiment

This study critically evaluates and empirically tests the Trivers–Willard (TW) hypothesis, which proposes a relationship between parental socioeconomic status and sex: Parents with higher status are expected to be more likely to have male offspring and to preferentially invest in male offspring, whereas parents with lower status are expected to be more likely to have female offspring and to preferentially invest in daughters. Although the TW hypothesis has been explored in terms of offspring sex ratio and parental investment, findings in modern developed societies generally show null results, with notable exceptions in the domain of parental investment in their children’s education. Previous studies have often not explicitly addressed the potential underlying mechanisms of the TW effect. This includes the authors of the original hypothesis (Trivers and Willard 1973), who discussed some potential mechanisms but ultimately left the question of mechanisms unanswered. Building on Matthews’s (2011) proposition to explore psychological underpinnings, this paper posits that the TW effect, if present, may be rooted in general parental preferences. To investigate this, a factorial survey experiment was designed to measure respondents’ preferences in parental investment while minimizing social desirability bias. The study specifically examines the extent to which respondents’ assessments of favorability and fairness in various parental investment scenarios depend on child characteristics believed to influence differential parental behavior. The findings reveal patterns that are somewhat in line with the TW hypothesis but are minor and lack statistical significance. The article concludes by proposing three future research directions aimed at further unraveling the intricacies of the TW effect.

Assessing the parental SES gradient in young Britons' partnership expectations, attitudes and its potential mediators.

A well-documented trend in family demography is that young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds tend to enter their first partnership earlier and forego marriage more often than their advantaged counterparts. Yet, limited research has explored whether there is also an association between parental background and expectations for partnership formation, which are considered important precursors of behaviours. Further, few studies have explored the potential mechanisms mediating these differences. This paper uses data from the British Household Panel Survey and Understanding Society to analyse the relationships between parental socioeconomic status and young Britons' expectations for marriage, cohabitation, and attitudes towards ideal age at marriage. Using the KHB decomposition as a mediation method, we verify whether these relationships are explained by two mechanisms measured during the young adults' adolescence: family structure socialisation and academic socialisation. We find that marriage expectations are socially stratified in the UK. Those from the least advantaged backgrounds have significantly lower expectations for marriage than the most advantaged, but this difference does not hold for cohabitation. Those from the least advantaged backgrounds are also more uncertain about their ideal age at marriage. Academic socialisation mediates these relationships to a limited extent. Family structure socialisation mediates a greater percentage, especially living with a single parent, rather than married parents, during adolescence.

DiffErential attainment and Factors AssoCiated with Training applications and Outcomes (DE FACTO) study: Trauma & Orthopaedic surgery in the UK.

The aims of this study were to describe the demographic, socioeconomic, and educational factors associated with core surgical trainees (CSTs) who apply to and receive offers for higher surgical training (ST3) posts in Trauma & Orthopaedics (T&O). Data collected by the UK Medical Education Database (UKMED) between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2019 were used in this retrospective longitudinal cohort study comprising 1,960 CSTs eligible for ST3. The primary outcome measures were whether CSTs applied for a T&O ST3 post and if they were subsequently offered a post. A directed acyclic graph was used for detecting confounders and adjusting logistic regression models to calculate odds ratios (ORs), which assessed the association between the primary outcomes and relevant exposures of interest, including: age, sex, ethnicity, parental socioeconomic status (SES), domiciliary status, category of medical school, Situational Judgement Test (SJT) scores at medical school, and success in postgraduate examinations. This study followed STROBE guidelines. Compared to the overall cohort of CSTs, females were significantly less likely to apply to T&O (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.46; n = 155/720 female vs n = 535/1,240 male; p < 0.001). CSTs who were not UK-domiciled prior to university were nearly twice as likely to apply to T&O (OR 1.99, 95% CI 1.39 to 2.85; n = 50/205 vs not UK-domiciled vs n = 585/1,580 UK-domiciled; p < 0.001). Age, ethnicity, SES, and medical school category were not associated with applying to T&O. Applicants who identified as 'black and minority ethnic' (BME) were significantly less likely to be offered a T&O ST3 post (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.51 to 0.97; n = 165/265 BME vs n = 265/385 white; p = 0.034). Differences in age, sex, SES, medical school category, and SJT scores were not significantly associated with being offered a T&O ST3 post. There is an evident disparity in sex between T&O applicants and an ethnic disparity between those who receive offers on their first attempt. Further high-quality, prospective research in the post-COVID-19 pandemic period is needed to improve equality, diversity, and inclusion in T&O training.

Parental SES and family support as predictors of educational level: Testing the buffering effect of effortful control and peer support.

Exposure to family risk factors increases adolescents' chances of attaining a lower educational level. However, some adolescents attain a high educational level despite being exposed to family risk factors such as a lower parental socioeconomic status (SES) or receiving less family support. Using data from the Dutch TRAILS cohort study (NT1 = 2175; Mage = 11.1, SD = 0.55, 50.8% female), we investigated if higher levels of effortful control and peer support can buffer against the negative effects of a lower parental SES and less family support on educational level. Two multinomial logistic regressions were performed (from early to mid-adolescence and from mid-adolescence to young adulthood) with post hoc tests to contrast four ordinal educational levels: practical vocational, theoretical vocational, higher general, and (pre-)university. Adolescents with a higher parental SES were consistently more likely to end up at a higher educational level, but family support was hardly associated with educational level. Neither effortful control nor peer support buffered the associations of parental SES and family support with educational level. Effortful control did have a positive direct (compensatory) effect on the educational level. We conclude that other individual competencies or more structural changes may be more helpful buffers for reducing socioeconomic inequalities in educational attainment.

School Health Promotion, the Body Mass Index z-Score, and Psychosocial Health in Primary Schools of the Netherlands.

Childhood overweight and psychosocial issues remain significant public health concerns. Schools worldwide implement health promotion programs to address these issues and to support the physical and psychosocial health of children. However, more insight is needed into the relation between these health-promoting programs and the Body Mass Index (BMI) z-score and psychosocial health of children, while taking into account how school factors might influence this relation. Therefore, we examined whether the variation between primary schools regarding the BMI z-score and psychosocial health of students could be explained by school health promotion, operationalized as Healthy School (HS) certification, general school characteristics, and the school population; we also examined to what extent the characteristics interact. The current study had a repeated cross-sectional design. Multilevel analyses were performed to calculate the variation between schools, and to examine the association between HS certification and our outcomes. Existing data of multiple school years on 1698 schools were used for the BMI z-score and on 841 schools for psychosocial health. The school level explained 2.41% of the variation in the BMI z-score and 2.45% of the variation in psychosocial health, and differences were mostly explained by parental socioeconomic status. Additionally, HS certification was associated with slightly lower BMI z-scores, but not with psychosocial health. Therefore, obtaining HS certification might contribute to the better physical health of primary school students in general. This might indicate that HS certification also relates to healthier lifestyles in primary schools, but further research should examine this.