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Review
. 2021 Mar 17;8(3):232.
doi: 10.3390/children8030232.

Feeling Unsafe at School and Associated Mental Health Difficulties among Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Yuko Mori  1   2 , Elina Tiiri  2   3 , Prakash Khanal  1   2 , Jayden Khakurel  1   2 , Kaisa Mishina  1   2   4 , Andre Sourander  2   3
Affiliations
Review

Feeling Unsafe at School and Associated Mental Health Difficulties among Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Yuko Mori et al. Children (Basel). .

Abstract

This study systematically reviewed the literature on perceived school safety. We investigated the prevalence, factors and associated mental health difficulties, as well as cross-cultural findings. Five databases were searched up to 9 February 2021 for peer-reviewed papers published in English. We included quantitative studies that explored the perception of school safety among children and adolescents. The reference lists of the selected papers were also searched. We conducted a narrative synthesis of the included studies. The review included 43 papers. The mean prevalence of the students who felt unsafe at school was 19.4% and ranged from 6.1% to 69.1%. Their perceived safety was associated with a wide range of personal, school, and social factors. Not feeling safe at school was related to being victimized and mental health difficulties, including depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior. Higher perceived school safety was associated with measures such as the presence of a security officer and fair school rule enforcement. The results showed the lack of cross-cultural studies on perceived school safety. Empirical studies are needed that examine the mechanisms of school safety, using valid measures. A clear definition of school safety should be considered a key aspect of future studies.

Keywords: adolescents; bullying; children; feeling unsafe; mental health; school climate; school safety; systematic review; victimization.

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Conflict of interest statement

The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart used to select papers related to perceived school safety in the present review.
Figure 2
Figure 2
An adapted ecological systems model of the multiple domains related to perceived school safety.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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