Table 1. Characteristics of Participating Students and Schools by Cohorta.
| Student characteristics | No. (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cohort 1 (n = 864) | Cohort 2 (n = 6386) | |
| Age, mean (SD), y | 13.6 (0.6) | 13.7 (0.6) |
| Gender | ||
| Female | 477 (55.3) | 3470 (55.4) |
| Male | 367 (42.5) | 2671 (42.7) |
| Other/prefer not to say | 19 (2.2) | 116 (1.9) |
| Race and ethnicity | ||
| White | 708 (81.9) | 4670 (73.1) |
| Other racial and ethnic groupsb | 156 (18.1) | 1716 (26.9) |
| Year groupc | ||
| Year 9 | 508 (58.8) | 3608 (56.5) |
| Year 10 | 356 (41.2) | 2778 (43.5) |
| Student-rated school climate (range, 1-5), mean (SD) | 3.1 (0.6) | 3.1 (0.7) |
| Risk for depression (CES-D scale; range, 1-60), mean (SD) | 15.9 (11.7) | 17.0 (11.9) |
| Social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties (SDQ; range, 0-40), mean (SD) | 12.5 (6.7) | 13.2 (6.8) |
| Mental well-being (WEMWBS; range, 14-70), mean (SD) | 48.0 (9.7) | 47.5 (9.8) |
| Risk for mental health difficulties | ||
| High | 216 (25.0) | 1647 (25.8) |
| Low | 648 (75.0) | 4739 (74.2) |
| School characteristics | Cohort 1 (n = 12) | Cohort 2 (n = 72) |
| School community | ||
| Students eligible for free school meals, mean (SD), % | 9.8 (8.1) | 12.9 (9.6) |
| Students receiving SEND support, mean (SD), % | 8.4 (3.8) | 10.4 (5.8) |
| Students who are White, mean (SD), %d | 83.5 (11.2) | 68.6 (29.1) |
| School size (No. of students), mean (SD) | 1144.2 (300.3) | 991.2 (340.6) |
| Coeducation | ||
| Coeducational school | 11 (91.7) | 62 (86.1) |
| Female only | 1 (8.3) | 10 (13.9) |
| Student-to-teacher ratio, mean (SD) | 15.5 (1.3) | 15.9 (1.9) |
| School quality (OFSTED) | ||
| Outstanding | 3 (25.0) | 13 (18.1) |
| Good | 7 (58.3) | 39 (54.2) |
| Requires improvement | 2 (16.7) | 9 (12.5) |
| SEL quality rating (range, 1-16), mean (SD) | 10.2 (3.8) | 12.3 (2.2) |
| SEL ethos (range, 1-100), mean (SD) | 47.7 (13.5) | 50.3 (9.4) |
| School attainment (range, 9-90), mean (SD) | 46.3 (5.8) | 46.0 (15.7) |
| Teacher-rated school climate (range, 1-5), mean (SD) | 3.8 (0.3) | 3.9 (0.4) |
| Student-rated school climate (range, 1-5), mean (SD) | 3.1 (0.2) | 3.1 (0.2) |
| Broader school context, urbanicity | ||
| Urban | 10 (83.3) | 61 (84.7) |
| Rural | 2 (16.7) | 11 (15.3) |
| Area-level deprivation (IMD; range, 1-10), mean (SD) | 6.3 (2.9) | 5.7 (2.7) |
Abbreviations: CES-D, Center for Epidemiological Studies for Depression; IMD, Indices of Multiple Deprivation; OFSTED, Office for Standards in Education; SDQ, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; SEL, social-emotional learning; SEND, special educational needs or disabilities; WEMWBS, Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale.
In cohort 1, 863 students provided data on gender, 862 provided data on the CES-D, 860 provided data on the SDQ, and 843 provided data on school climate. In cohort 2, 6257 students provided data on gender, 6376 provided data on the CES-D, 6365 provided data on the SDQ, 6380 provided data on the WEMWBS, and 6243 provided data on school climate. In cohort 2, 66 schools provided data on percentage of students receiving SEND support, 63 provided data on percentage of students who are White, 61 provided data on school quality, 62 provided data on school attainment, and 70 provided data on teacher-rated school climate.
The other racial and ethnic groups category includes Arab, Asian, Black/African/Caribbean, mixed/multiple ethnic groups, and other ethnic groups. This category was grouped together owing to small sample sizes.
School year groups correspond across the home nations as follows: England, 9 and 10; Northern Ireland, 10 and 11; and Scotland, S2 and S3.
Ford et al12 suggest a potential association of this variable at the school level with mental health outcomes at the student level.