Understanding Signs and Sources of Anxiety in Urban Elementary Schools Serving Predominately Ethnically/Racially Minoritized Children

ABSTRACT

Objective

This mixed-methods study examined teachers’ perceptions of student anxiety in urban elementary schools serving predominantly low-income and ethnically/racially minoritized youth.

Method

Most participating teachers were female (87.7%) and from minoritized backgrounds themselves (89.2%), teaching in schools serving predominantly Black/African American (40%) or Hispanic (60%) students, and in which > 70% of students are eligible for free meals. Teachers were asked in surveys (N = 82) and interviews (n = 12) about the nature of student anxiety, and cultural/contextual considerations that influence anxiety.

Results

Overall, teachers reported prevalence and signs of student anxiety that were consistent with the literature, but they reported higher levels of impairment than in previous community samples. Regressions revealed that greater levels of student exposure to community violence and higher proportions of Black students were associated with higher teacher-perceived prevalence and concern about student anxiety, respectively. Moreover, greater emotional exhaustion in teachers was associated with higher reports of anxiety-related impairment in students. Thematic coding of interviews emphasized how teachers perceived 1) most student anxieties to be proportional responses to realistic threats and stress in students’ lives (e.g. resource insecurity), 2) systems-level problems (e.g. pressure to perform on standardized tests) contribute to student anxiety, and 3) school-based anxiety sources often interact with traumas and stressors students experience outside of school (e.g. immigration experiences).

Conclusions

Relative to the predominant literature that has focused on biological, cognitive, and other intraindividual factors as sources of anxiety, the present work underscores the importance of considering how broader economic and systems-level influences exacerbate anxiety in marginalized youth.

Author Note

All authors were located in the urban region in which the study was conducted. Whereas some of the authors shared similar social identities to the participants, it is notable that the range of the social identities on the research team did not match the range of social identities in the teacher participants and their students. Specifically, the first author identifies as a White, non-Hispanic cisgender woman. She does not have lived experience with systemic racism, nor has she experienced oppression associated with her racial or cultural background. The second author identifies as a White Latina, bilingual (Spanish, English) speaker, second-generation immigrant who is from Nicaraguan and Western European ancestry. The third author identifies as a mixed-race, White and Indigenous Central American (specific Indigenous nation unknown), cisgender Latina with Southern European and Nicaraguan ancestry. The fourth author identifies as a White, non-Hispanic cisgender woman. The fifth and sixth authors identify as White, Jewish cisgender women of Eastern European ancestry, and the final author identifies as a White, Jewish cisgender man of Eastern European ancestry. Regarding the authors’ training backgrounds, the fifth author acknowledges experience over two decades examining urban schools as contexts for children’s mental health, and the sixth author acknowledges her training in special education and her experience within urban public schools. The other authors note their training in child clinical psychology and their complementary, yet limited, professional experiences within elementary schools (e.g. providing teacher consultations, tutoring in schools). Overall, the authors acknowledge the importance of continuously reflecting on their positionality and the extent to which their lived experiences reflect (and do not reflect) those of the participants. They also wish to acknowledge their drive to strengthen mental health supports in community spaces, as well as the privilege and limitations associated with their academic affiliation when conducting research in such spaces.

Disclosure Statement

Dr. Comer receives textbook royalties from Macmillan Learning, and an editorial stipend from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, for work unrelated to the present research. The remaining authors declare that they have nothing to disclose.

Data Availability Statement

A de-identified version of the data that support the findings of this study may be made available upon reasonable request.

Supplementary Data

Supplemental material for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2024.2361731.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by a grant from the American Psychological Foundation (PI: Conroy), as well as seed funds from the FIU Department of Psychology and the FIU Center for Children and Families (PI: Conroy).