Adolescent mental health and psychological sense of community : contemporaneous and longitudinal associations

Abstract

The primary purpose of the current study was to determine the nature of the relationship between adolescent mental health (loneliness, happiness, subjective well-being, and self-esteem) and psychological sense of community (PSC). Specifically, the study of adolescent siblings over two years sought to determine the directional nature of this relationship. This study extends previous correlational research examining the associations among PSC and mental health in adolescents, by examining these associations both contemporaneously and longitudinally. The results from structural equation modelling indicated that, contemporaneously, PSC in the school environment is associated with loneliness, subjective well-being, and self-esteem in adolescents. The finding that PSC was associated with self-esteem is an important new discovery in research on PSC and mental health in adolescents. Longitudinal results suggested that PSC and mental health are both predictors and outcomes of each other. Mixed results were obtained for the analysis of developmental differences for these variables for older and younger sibling dyads. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for program development within the school and community environments.