School resources and teen suicide risk, 1991–2016: a longitudinal analysis at the state level

Purpose Research shows that teachers’ salaries influence educational and non-educational outcomes. And still, too few studies explore whether teacher compensation patterns correlate with student mental health outcomes. This research attends to this gap and asks: at the state level, does the average K-12 teacher salary predict teen suicide risk? Design/methodology/approach We use an original panel time-series dataset which includes average teacher salary, teen suicide rate and economic, religious and sociocultural control variables at the state level. We analyze this data using two analytical strategies. First, we build mixed models with teachers’ salaries and the covariates as fixed effects and state and region as random factors. Second, we use the same models after differencing teachers’ salaries and suicide rates, that is, after calculating the year-to-year change in both variables. Findings Results indicate an association between teachers’ salary and teen suicide rates. Social implications Social policy implications suggest increased funding for schools, teachers and teacher and staff training may improve student well-being at the aggregate level. Originality/value The conceptual framework and data provide an innovative approach to the study of a very personal phenomenon; linking the structural variable of teacher pay to the specific indicator of teen suicide risk is novel. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-02-2024-0194