Science

Teacher–student relationships (TSRs) are critical for student development, yet little is known about the role that malleable child-level skills and experiences play in shaping TSR quality among students with disabilities experiencing behavioral difficulties. This study examines how student experiences (e.g., classroom working alliance) and skills (i.e., social skills, internalizing/externalizing behaviors) relate to TSR quality as perceived by both teachers and students. Participants included 185 students with disabilities and 76 special education teachers across 50 schools. Multi-informant assessments and regression analyses revealed that working alliance, specific social skills, and externalizing problem behaviors were uniquely associated with both positive (e.g., trust, closeness) and negative (e.g., conflict, alienation) TSR dimensions. Importantly, working alliance emerged as a consistent predictor across both rater perspectives, while discrepancies between teacher and student perceptions highlighted the importance of using multi-informant approaches. Findings underscore the potential of interventions targeting alliance-building and social–emotional skills to enhance TSRs for students with elevated behavioral needs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)

Integrating widespread, low-burden approaches to facilitate connection to school-based care may be helpful in expanding mental health reach in schools. The present study describes students’ use of a single-item self-referral process following a school-wide anonymous screener of mental health and substance use. The Substance Use and Risk Factor Survey included a school-based referral request item in 47 Massachusetts public middle and high schools in fall 2023 (N = 16,236; 47% girls; 4% gender diverse; 41% racially or ethnically marginalized or minoritized). Students who self-referred, in comparison to those who did not self-refer, endorsed more symptoms of depression and anxiety (Mself-referral = 3.7 [SD = 3.8], MnoReferral = 3.0 [SD = 3.3], p = .0001), psychoticlike experiences (Mself-referral = 1.1 [SD = 1.6], MnoReferral = 0.9 [SD = 1.4], p = .0004), emotional reactivity (Mself-referral = 24.4 [SD = 23.7], MnoReferral— = 20.8 [SD = 20.8], p = .001), and inattention and hyperactivity (Mself-referral = 0.8 [SD = .8], MnoReferral = 0.7 [SD = 0.7], p = .001). Students who self-referred were more likely to endorse a past-year suicide attempt (6.6% among self-referral group, 3.1% among the no-referral group; OR = 1.7, p = .02) and not talking to anyone (formal or informal mental health supports) about their mental health in the past year (31.4% self-referrals, 21.9% no referral; OR = 1.7, p < .001). Students who self-referred were also more likely to hold a minoritized gender identity (6.9% self-referrals, 3.9% no self-referrals; OR = 1.8, p = .012). School staff (N = 15) noted that the self-referral process was helpful (M = 3.87/5, SD = 1.27), and approximately half of the students requesting support (53.7%) were not already engaged in school-based mental health support. Self-referral requests following school-wide screeners may be a useful strategy to identify students experiencing mental health distress without supports in place. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)

Asian Americans generally and Asian American educators have experienced occupational stress during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as racism-related stress due to the uptick in anti-Asian hate. In this study, we validated the scores of a revised version of the Asian American Racism-related Stress Inventory and examined the experiences of racism-related stress as a result of anti-Asian discrimination and violence. This mixed methods study included 256 Asian American educators who completed a survey and 21 Asian American educators who participated in semistructured interviews. We conducted confirmatory factor analyses and other analyses to evaluate the psychometric properties of the revised Asian American Racism-related Stress Inventory scores. Results indicated that a second-order model with racism-related stress as the best supported higher order factor and three first-order factors: sociohistorical, general, and perpetual foreigner racism-related stress. Descriptive thematic analysis of semistructured interviews further revealed contextualized racialized experiences and associated racism-related stressors. These findings highlight the significance of stress stemming from racism and the distinct encounters Asian American educators experience in the context of anti-Asian hate. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)

Teachers are the most important factor in eliciting positive student outcomes. However, teacher stress and attrition are an increasing problem. This problem is exacerbated in high-needs schools, which serve students who are exposed to higher levels of risk factors and trauma. Due to the unique challenges faced by their students, teachers in these schools experience heightened rates of secondary traumatic stress (STS). What is unclear is how STS operates as a unique job demand contributing to teacher attrition. The present study surveyed 104 teachers in rural North Louisiana to determine the following: (a) What general mental health symptoms and degree of STS are teachers in high-needs rural schools experiencing? (b) Does STS contribute to teacher intent to leave the field? Study findings show that many teachers experience trauma exposure through their work, with approximately a quarter of those surveyed reporting that they were likely to leave their school or the profession in the next year. Additionally, a logistic regression found that STS significantly contributes to teacher intent to leave the profession. Implications of these emergent findings are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)

School climate has been of increasing concern in ensuring school safety and mitigating discipline disparities. Perceptions of school climate can differ across racial/ethnic groups. These differences in perceptions call for the exploration of other culturally relevant school climate dimensions. This study used exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to explore if hyper surveillance emerged as a unique component of school climate with a sample of 3,285 middle school students. Racial and gender differences across aspects of school climate were observed and are discussed within the context of understanding the importance of middle school students’ perceptions. Findings reveal that middle school students perceive hyper surveillance as a distinct component of school climate separate from fairness, suggesting that this form of school climate might be particularly relevant to the school experiences of students of color. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)

Although existing literature has focused on the impact of racial/ethnic discrimination on Chinese American youth mental health during the pandemic, less attention has been paid to the protective family-level processes that can buffer against such mental health risks. Guided by the dual-factor model of mental health and family systems theory, this study aimed to explore the role of affirming family communication in Chinese American youth mental health in the midst of racial discrimination. Participants were 205 Chinese American youth and their parents, who completed an online survey in the spring of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. By conducting a series of path analyses, we found that affirming family communication functions as a promotive factor that counteracts the negative impact of prepandemic peer discrimination on youth externalizing problems. However, the positive influences of affirming family communication on internalizing problems and subjective well-being were weakened when Chinese American youth faced high levels of COVID-19-related peer discrimination. The findings offer implications for school psychology practice by underscoring how to engage with families to promote youth mental health in the context of racial discrimination. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)

Adolescents today face unprecedented levels of stress. Recent research has shown that adopting a stress-is-enhancing mindset can protect adolescents from the adverse effects of stress, and more importantly, this mindset can be altered by interventions. However, limited studies have investigated effective methods for changing adolescents’ stress mindset, particularly in China, where academic stress is exceptionally high. This study examined the effects of a single 40-min stress mindset intervention delivered in a classroom setting at a Chinese middle school. Data were collected and analyzed from 174 eighth-grade students (97 in the intervention group and 77 in the control group). The results from difference-in-differences model showed that students in the intervention group demonstrated a significantly stronger stress-is-enhancing mindset compared to those in the control group. Within the intervention group, students who exhibited a greater shift toward a stress-is-enhancing mindset showed a larger reduction in perceived stress. However, there was no significant overall reduction in perceived stress at the group level. These findings suggest that traditional classroom teaching can serve as a practical and accessible approach for cultivating a stress-is-enhancing mindset, and they underscore the need for further research to evaluate the effectiveness of the teacher-led stress mindset intervention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)

In response to the “replication crisis,” this conceptual replication study builds upon the work of Yang, Chan, Lin, and Chen (see record 2022-35868-001) conducted in China, exploring the interplay between teacher victimization, school climate, and teacher burnout among 504 K–12 teachers in the United States. Sequential linear regression analyses revealed that while a positive school climate generally protected teachers against burnout, it paradoxically intensified burnout for teachers experiencing specific forms of victimization. Statistically significant moderation effects showed that teachers who encountered higher levels of social/relational victimization reported increased depersonalization in more supportive school climates, while teachers experiencing cyber victimization exhibited greater feelings of reduced personal accomplishment within supportive school environments. These results support the healthy context paradox, suggesting that victimization can feel particularly isolating and detrimental within otherwise supportive settings, challenging the assumption that positive environments are universally protective. Contrary to the emotional contagion hypothesis, positive climates did not buffer the negative influence of victimization but rather accentuated feelings of alienation and burnout. These findings highlight the necessity of nuanced approaches to school climate interventions, particularly in addressing less overt forms of victimization. The study holds critical implications for policy and practice in addressing teacher well-being and retention amid growing concerns about school violence and mental health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)

Despite the increasing diversity of students in the schools, Asian teachers remain an underrepresented group whose experiences are unexplored. There is also limited literature on understanding the definitions of well-being among Asian teachers. Using focus groups, this study explored how Asian teachers define well-being and their experiences with well-being initiatives. Findings reveal that Asian teachers’ definition of well-being encompasses (a) universal elements, such as components in the positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishments model of well-being; (b) contextual factors (e.g., sense of safety); and (c) cultural-specific factors, including fairness, inclusion, and community support. These insights contribute to a nuanced understanding of Asian teacher well-being and offer practical recommendations to create more inclusive and supportive educational environments for Asian teachers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Test Anxiety Coping Skills (TACS) measure, a new self-report scale developed to assess strategies employed by school-age students to cope with test anxiety. TACS proposed a three-factor structure of test anxiety coping skills that correspond to the three major treatment methods identified across previous studies as important components of test anxiety intervention programs: cognitive strategies, behavioral strategies, and study and test-taking skills. The study was conducted among a sample of 228 secondary school students (Grades 8 and 9) in Singapore, who completed the TACS measure at two timepoints of data collection. TACS demonstrated good levels of overall internal consistency among all items at both timepoints. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the three-factor model provided a good fit to data obtained at both timepoints. Together, results of this study provide preliminary support for the sound psychometric characteristics of the TACS measure. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)