School context and mental health of migrant and non-migrant adolescents in Barcelona

Abstract

The continuous international migration flow invites us to reinvent ourselves to create inclusive societies at intercultural level. Coexistence, as a model based on the mutual integration of locals and migrants, is still a challenge to face in Europe and Spain. This study aims to identify which mental health and resilience variables influence school integration used as a proxy for psychosocial well-being by comparing a sample of migrant and local adolescents. Through a quantitative methodology, school factors, disruptive behaviors, and resilience were measured in 132 students aged between 12 and 18 years old. The results reveal that although mental health scores are similar in both groups, mental health and contextual resilience are more critical for the migrant adolescent population than for the local one. Clearly identifying the relationships between school related factors and mental health offers the possibility of designing effective interventions within the educational context.