BETTER UNDERSTANDING RACE, ETHNICITY AND THE STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS: THE DISPROPORTIONATE LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The study aimed to better understand elementary students’ mental health and well-being before and after the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as whether there are differences in elementary students’ self-reported mental health between racial groups. Minnesota Student Survey results were analysed, and the results of Bonferroni post-hoc tests found significant differences in worrying a lot and feeling sad between racial groups. Hispanic or Latino/Latina students are significantly more likely to worry a lot than all other racial/ethnic groups. Black, African or African American students are significantly less likely to feel sad than all other racial/ethnic groups, except White students. Hispanic or Latino/Latina students reported the largest increases in worrying and feeling sad between 2019 and 2022. The study findings hold implications for practice, including building educators’ cultural responsiveness, increasing mental health support in the schools, and implementing social-emotional learning in elementary schools.