Sense of Community, Unfairness, and Psychosomatic Symptoms: A Multilevel Analysis of Italian Schools

Abstract Purpose This study examines the role of school sense of community and school unfairness in predicting psychosomatic symptoms among Italian early adolescents. The study used hierarchical linear modeling to examine the relations between individual and school characteristics, and students'...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of adolescent health 2013-07, Vol.53 (1), p.142-145
Main Authors: Vieno, Alessio, Ph.D, Lenzi, Michela, Ph.D, Santinello, Massimo, M.S, Scacchi, Luca, M.S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescence
Adolescent
Adolescents
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Age Factors
Biological and medical sciences
Connectedness
Fairness
Female
Health
Health behaviour
Humans
Italy
Italy - epidemiology
Male
Medical sciences
Pediatrics
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Psychophysiologic Disorders - epidemiology
Psychophysiologic Disorders - etiology
Psychosomatic symptoms
Residence Characteristics
School context
Schools
Sense of community
Sex Factors
Social justice
Social Justice - psychology
Social Justice - statistics & numerical data
Somatoform disorders. Psychosomatics
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract Purpose This study examines the role of school sense of community and school unfairness in predicting psychosomatic symptoms among Italian early adolescents. The study used hierarchical linear modeling to examine the relations between individual and school characteristics, and students' psychosomatic symptoms. Methods Data were analyzed using a two-level model based on 22,552 students (49.8% boys; M age = 15.70, SD = .69) nested within 1,111 schools. A questionnaire devised by the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) international group was used. Results Sense of community and procedural unfairness in the school at the individual level showed a significant association with students' psychosomatic symptoms. School characteristics predicted between-school variation in psychosomatic symptoms, in that procedural unfairness at the school level increased the risk for psychosomatic symptoms and a sense of community in the school protected students. Conclusions The present study suggests that the quality-of-school context may have a key role in predicting students' psychosomatic symptoms.
ISSN:1054-139X
1879-1972
DOI:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.02.019