{
  "id": 10286025,
  "title": "What role does high school play in mental health? Feeling connected to other students and staff is key",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/27/what-role-does-high-school-play-in-mental-health-feeling-connected-to",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-27T19:21:23.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Conversation AU",
    "slug": "the-conversation-au",
    "url": "https://theconversation.com/what-role-does-high-school-play-in-mental-health-feeling-connected-to-other-students-and-staff-is-key-292464"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A new study conducted by the Black Dog Institute has revealed that school connectedness plays a crucial role in supporting students' mental health and wellbeing. Researchers examined various factors in schools, including staff perceptions of culture, student ratings of school climate, and attendance, among others. However, their findings indicated that students' sense of belonging and connection to their school community during their first year of high school (Year 8) was the only significant predictor of mental health and wellbeing two years later (Year 10). This suggests that fostering supportive relationships between students and teachers, as well as among students themselves, can have a lasting impact on students' psychological well-being. The study did not find any correlation between student mental health and other factors like student-teacher ratios, school gender, or public versus private school status. The researchers emphasize that promoting a sense of belonging in high school is vital for healthy psychological development, particularly during the critical period of adolescence, where rapid changes occur and identity formation takes place. To improve school connectedness, schools can implement whole-school approaches that engage teachers, staff, and students in creating a supportive environment. This can be achieved through the establishment of connection committees, providing platforms for student feedback, and offering mentoring programs. These strategies show promise in enhancing students' feelings of connectedness and, consequently, their overall mental health and wellbeing.",
  "summary": "By the time an Australian student is 15, they will have already spent as many as 11,000 hours at school. What happens here matters for their wellbeing.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}