(PS3-B34) Adapting to Change: The Relationship Between Secondary Control Beliefs and School Climate

The two-process model of perceived control involves primary control, changing the world to fit one’s needs, and secondary control, changing oneself to fit into the world (Rothbaum, Weisz, & Snyder, 1982). Depressive symptoms in youth have been linked to low perceived control in the two-process model, yet less research has focused on secondary control (Weisz, Francis, & Bearman, 2010). This model examines how an individual changes or interacts with their environment. The school environment is an important context for studying youth outcomes because of how much time students spend at school. Additionally, research has found that fostering a positive school climate for youth can help support their feelings of safety and respect and has an intense impact on their development and mental health (Thapa, Cohen,Guffey, & Higgins-D’Alessandro, 2013). Similarly, familism, a cultural value characterized by strong emotional connections, family-oriented values and an ability to support and count on family members is linked to positive outcomes and reduced risk for internalizing symptoms (Cahill, Updegraff, Causadias, & Korous, 2021). This study examines the mediating role of secondary control beliefs between school climate and depression among a predominantly Latinx sample. Additionally, we aimed to evaluate familism as a protective factor in a moderated mediation analysis. We hypothesized that secondary control beliefs will mediate the relationship between school climate and depression. Moreover, we hypothesized that familism would moderate this relationship, such that higher levels of familism will weaken the relationship between school climate and secondary control beliefs. Participants in this study included 345 adolescent students (M age= 11.5 years old, 57% female) drawn from 11 Chicago Public Schools. Measures included the Children’s Depression Inventory (Kovacs, 1992), the Secondary Control Scale for Children (SCSC; Abramson & Sackheim, 1977), CSCSS School Climate (Furlong et al., 2005), and the Familism Scale (Sabogal et al., 1987). As predicted, using SPSS V.25.0 and Model 4 of the PROCESS macro (Hayes, 2017), preliminary analysis revealed that secondary control beliefs significantly mediated the relation between school climate and child depressive symptoms (𝛽= -.11, CI [-.17,-.06]). On the contrary, familism did not moderate this relationship based on Model 7’s index of moderated mediation which was non-significant, CI -.012, .002. This study illustrates the importance of accounting for school-based factors when assessing youth mental health, specifically depression. These findings highlight school climate as a factor that increases youth’s perceived control and, in turn, their mental well-being. While these data were collected prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, these findings shed light on ways to support youth’s transition back to school in the face of continued uncertainty.