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Change and Stability of Emotional Health of Rural Pennsylvania Youth During High School
Author(s) -
Wang Donghui,
Hagedorn Annelise DeJong,
McLaughlin Diane K.,
Bray Bethany C.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the journal of rural health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.439
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1748-0361
pISSN - 0890-765X
DOI - 10.1111/jrh.12296
Subject(s) - psychology , emotional health , context (archaeology) , rural area , emotional well being , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , medicine , mental health , psychiatry , geography , archaeology , pathology
Purpose Few prior studies have examined change in emotional health of high school students in a rural context. Considering the multifaceted nature of emotional health, this research aims to identify the patterns and explore change and stability of the emotional health of rural Pennsylvania youth. It also investigates the influence of family, peers, school, and the community environment on rural adolescents’ emotional health. Methods Using panel data from the Rural Youth Education Project, we employed latent transition analysis to examine changes in patterns of rural students’ self‐reported emotional health from 9 th grade to 11 th grade (N = 1,294). Findings Four distinct emotional health subgroups for rural adolescents were identified. Over half of the youth in the sample felt emotionally well, or positive, in both 9 th and 11 th grades. Roughly 60% of rural youth remained in the same emotional health category from 9 th to 11 th grade, but a substantial minority experienced change in emotional health. One‐fifth reported lower emotional health status in 11 th grade, and one‐fifth indicated more positive emotions in 11 th than in 9 th grade. We found strong evidence of family, school, community, and peer influences on the emotional health of rural youth in 9 th grade. Conclusions The results suggest that while a large share of rural youth exhibit positive emotional health and remain positive across their high school years, a substantial share of rural youth experience changing emotional health. The study underscores the important role that family, peers, school, and the community environment play for rural youth's emotional health over time.