A systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between sense of school belonging and externalizing behavior problems

Abstract The aim of the systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the association between school students’ sense of school belonging and externalizing behavior problems. Search terms were entered in Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and ERIC in July 2025, filtering for English language articles from 2000 onwards. For inclusion, articles needed to report on independent empirical data that allowed for meta-analytic calculations. Exclusion criteria concerned certain sample characteristics, operationalization and conceptualization of constructs, and study design. Applying the eligibility criteria in a title-abstract and full-text screening, resulted in the inclusion of 53 articles. A NHLBI checklist was utilized for the quality assessment. Small yet significant effects were found with both cross-sectional ( k = 53, N = 143,980, r = − 0.26) and longitudinal data ( k = 17, N = 29,944, r = − 0.16), albeit with high heterogeneity. Across these, different moderators emerged as significant, with the effect size metric, study quality, and informant of externalizing behavior showing consistent differences. Differentiated meta-analyses for temporal directions revealed bidirectional longitudinal effects from sense of school belonging onto externalizing behaviors ( k = 14, N = 25,111, r = − 0.17) and vice versa ( k = 7, N = 7929, r = − 0.16). Thus, school belonging and externalizing behaviors are bidirectionally and negatively associated both concurrently and over time. These findings highlight that the promotion of school belonging represents an important focus for schools seeking to support students with behavioral difficulties and strengthen positive developmental pathways.