Abstract
Depression, anxiety, and stress are common mental health problems among adolescents. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have found that students who suffer from mental health problems (e.g., ADHD, anxiety, or depression) tend to manifest school and social problems. Unfortunately, research has shown that the significant rate of children who suffer from behavioral or emotional problems remains unidentified because of their mild symptoms. As a result, the symptoms continue to develop gradually and eventually become mental illnesses. When mild symptoms become a noticeable mental illness, treatment becomes more challenging and takes longer than in the early stages. Detecting children’s mental health problems early can prevent the further development of mental health problems into adulthood. The early detection of children who are at mental risk is possible through universal mental health screening in the school setting. The present study focuses on the Behavioral and Emotional Screening System to identify students who were at mild risk of mental health problems and to examine their academic trajectories over four years. The findings suggest that students at mild risk of behavioral and emotional problems showed similar academic performance as other students. Students with mild symptoms can be easily overlooked if academic performance were relied on as the measure of their academic success. Their symptoms could develop as noticeable mental illness later. The BESS is an effective solution to identify students at mild risk of behavioral and emotional problems in the early stages and may be helpful in maintaining consistent and positive academic performance over time.
Presenters
Jihye KimAssociate Professor of Educational Research, Secondary and Middle Grades Program, Kennesaw State University, Georgia, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
The Physiology, Kinesiology and Psychology of Wellness in its Social Context
KEYWORDS
Early Detection, Universal Screening, Behavioral and Emotional Risk, Longitudinal Effects
