Girls, mental health and academic achievement: a qualitative systematic review

Figures & data

Figure 1. Mental health continuum model

Figure 2. Dual factor model of mental health and wellbeing

Figure 3. Flow diagram

Table 1. Overview of studies with student participants

First author name	Date	Format	Publication	Country	Sample*	School profile/s	Sample size (girls only)**
Ekert	1999	Article	Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice	USA	Girls	One mixed, high performing urban school serving largely ‘students of colour’	16
Eriksen	2021	Article	Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education	Norway	Girls, boys	Five upper and lower secondary schools	Unspecified
Jackson	2010	Article	Educational Review	UK	Girls, boys	Six mixed gender, mixed performing comprehensive schools	75
Laftman	2013	Article	Journal of Youth Studies	Sweden	Girls, boys	One mixed gender, high performing school	Approx. 25
Lenz	2013	Article	Gender and Education	Sweden	Girls	Unspecified	2
Lucey	2002	Article	Journal of Education Policy	UK	Girls, boys, parents	Eight primaries	Approx. 20
Roeser	2008	Article	Journal of Early Adolescence	USA	Girls	One average performing school in lower/middle-class catchment	27
Spencer	2016	Article	Journal of Adolescent Research	USA	Girls, parents, teachers	Two independent all-girls’ schools in affluent catchment	115
Walkerdine	2001	Book	Palgrave	UK	Girls, parents	Unspecified	14
First author name	Social class	Ethnicity	Age range (years)**	Methodology/ qualitative method	Conceptualisation of mental health (individual and/or social***)	Conceptualisation of gender
Ekert	Unspecified	6x Latina, 4x African-American, 3x Haitian-American, 1x biracial, 1x Portuguese-American, 1x Vietnamese.	14-18	Ethnography – interviews; weekly focus groups.	Individual and social	Unspecified
Eriksen	Mixed	Unspecified	15-17	Group interviews; individual interviews	Individual and social	Unspecified
Jackson	Mixed	Mixed ethnicity	13-14	Interviews	Individual and social	Gender as socially constructed, multiple masculinities/ femininities
Laftman	Unspecified	Unspecified	14-15	Case study – interviews	Individual and social	Unspecified
Lenz	Unspecified	Unspecified	13-17	Diffractive analysis – discussions; email follow-ups; photograph method	Social	Material-discursive construction
Lucey	90% middle-class	Unspecified	10-12	Interviews	Individual and social	Unspecified
Roeser	Unspecified	29% European American, 14% African American, 10% Latin American, 10% Asian American, 37% multiracial/multiethnic	11-14	Semi-clinical interviews	Individual and social	Developmental stages and gender role theory
Spencer	Predominantly middle-class	Of those responding: 46x White/Caucasian, 8x Black, 2x biracial (White and Black), 1x Hispanic, 1x Native American, 1x Arab, 1x other	11-16	Interviews	Individual and social	Unspecified
Walkerdine	Mix of working-class and middle-class	5x White, 1x Black, 4x Asian, 1x British Maltese, 2x African Caribbean, 1x mixed-race	16-21	Interviews; video diary	Individual and social	Gender as socially constructed (i.e. classed femininity) and psychoanalytic theory

*Groups from which data is drawn/discussed in the text.

**For Walkerdine, data charted includes only the post-1990 sample.

***Individual (biological/psychological), social (cultural/environmental).

Table 2. Overview of studies with staff participants only

First author name	Date	Format	Publication	Country	Sample	School profile/s	Sample size (staff)	Student age range (years)	Methodology/qualitative method	Conceptualisation of mental health (individual and/or social)	Conceptualisation of gender
Perander	2020	Article	Cambridge Journal of Education	Finland	Study counsellors and teachers	Nine academically-oriented, mixed gender, mixed socioeconomic status schools	23	16–19	Interviews	Unspecified	Gender as socially constructed, multiple masculinities/ femininities
Odenbring	2019	Article	Education Inquiry	Sweden	Student welfare team members	Three urban, mixed demographic schools	Approx. 13	12–16	Individual and focus group interviews	Unspecified	Gender role theory

Figure 4. Mental health/achievement see-saw model