Perspectives of School Principals on Mental Health Promotion and Prevention Among School-Aged Children—A 2025 Cross-Sectional Survey in Lodz Administrative Region in Poland
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Design and Population
2.2. Study Questionnaire
2.3. Data Analysis
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Gender | n | % |
---|---|---|
female | 495 | 81.8 |
male | 110 | 18.2 |
Years of experience as a school principal | ||
1–5 | 209 | 34.5 |
6–10 | 115 | 19.0 |
11–20 | 113 | 18.7 |
21–30 | 100 | 16.5 |
over 30 years | 68 | 11.2 |
Type of school | ||
primary school | 467 | 77.2 |
general secondary school | 67 | 11.1 |
technical school | 60 | 9.9 |
vocational school | 11 | 1.8 |
Location of the school | ||
rural area | 300 | 49.6 |
small city (<20,000 residents) | 70 | 11.6 |
medium city (20,000–100,000 residents) | 138 | 22.8 |
big city (over 100,000 residents) | 97 | 16.0 |
Variable | n | % |
---|---|---|
In your opinion, has the number of mental health problems among children and adolescents that affect their functioning at school increased over the last 5 years? | ||
definitely yes | 361 | 59.7 |
rather yes | 213 | 35.2 |
rather no | 26 | 4.3 |
definitely no | 3 | 0.5 |
I do not know/difficult to tell | 2 | 0.3 |
How would you rate teachers’ preparedness to work with students diagnosed with mental disorders? | ||
definitely good | 11 | 1.8 |
rather good | 148 | 24.5 |
moderate | 354 | 58.5 |
rather bad | 84 | 13.9 |
definitely bad | 8 | 1.3 |
How would you rate teachers’ preparedness to discuss students’ mental health concerns with parents? | ||
definitely good | 20 | 3.3 |
rather good | 236 | 39.0 |
moderate | 289 | 47.8 |
rather bad | 58 | 9.6 |
definitely bad | 2 | 0.3 |
How do you assess the degree of implementation of recommendations issued by specialists in the psychiatric care system for children and adolescents in the school you manage? | ||
definitely good | 29 | 4.8 |
rather good | 292 | 48.3 |
moderate | 248 | 41.0 |
rather bad | 30 | 5.0 |
definitely bad | 6 | 1.0 |
How would you rate the level of support that a specialist teacher in the school you manage provides to a student diagnosed with a mental disorder? | ||
definitely high | 81 | 13.4 |
rather high | 345 | 57.0 |
moderate | 162 | 26.8 |
rather low | 16 | 2.6 |
definitely low | 1 | 0.2 |
Does your school organize lessons on mental health for students? | ||
yes | 573 | 94.7 |
no | 32 | 5.3 |
Does your school organize training for teachers on working with children diagnosed with mental disorders? | ||
yes | 443 | 73.2 |
no | 162 | 26.8 |
Does your school have procedures in place to deal with a student who attempts suicide? | ||
yes | 475 | 78.5 |
no | 130 | 21.5 |
Variable | Does Your School Organize Lessons on Mental Health for Students? (Yes) | Does Your School Organize Training for Teachers on Working with Children Diagnosed with Mental Disorders? (Yes) | Does Your School Have Procedures in Place to Deal with a Student Who Attempts Suicide? (Yes) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n (%) | p | n (%) | p | n (%) | p | |
Gender | ||||||
female (n = 495) | 470 (94.9) | 0.6 | 363 (73.3) | 0.9 | 383 (77.4) | 0.1 |
male (n = 110) | 103 (93.6) | 80 (72.7) | 92 (83.6) | |||
Years of experience as a school principal | ||||||
1–5 (n = 209) | 195 (93.3) | 0.7 | 146 (69.9) | 0.8 | 163 (78.0) | 0.8 |
6–10 (n = 115) | 111 (96.5) | 87 (75.7) | 87 (75.7) | |||
11–20 (n = 113) | 108 (95.6) | 84 (74.3) | 88 (77.9) | |||
21–30 (n = 100) | 94 (94.0) | 75 (75.0) | 81 (81.0) | |||
over 30 years (n = 68) | 65 (95.6) | 51 (75.0) | 56 (82.4) | |||
Type of school | ||||||
primary school (n = 467) | 440 (94.2) | 0.3 | 330 (70.7) | 0.01 | 359 (76.9) | 0.07 |
secondary school (n = 138) | 133 (96.4) | 113 (81.9) | 116 (84.1) | |||
Location of the school | ||||||
rural area (n = 300) | 288 (96.0) | 0.2 | 206 (68.7) | 0.01 | 227 (75.7) | 0.09 |
urban area (n = 305) | 285 (93.4) | 237 (77.7) | 248 (81.3) |
Variable | Rise in Mental Health Problems (Rather Yes/Definitely Yes) over the Last 5 Years | Teachers’ Preparedness to Work with Students Diagnosed with Mental Disorders (Rather Good or Very Good) | Teachers’ Preparedness to Discuss Students’ Mental Health Concerns with Parents (Rather Good or Very Good) | Degree of Implementation of Recommendations Issued by Specialists in the Psychiatric Care System for Children (Rather Good or Very Good) | Level of Support That Specialist Teacher Provides to a Student with Mental Disorder (Rather Good or Very Good) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n (%) | p | n (%) | p | n (%) | p | n (%) | p | n (%) | p | |
Gender | ||||||||||
female (n = 495) | 470 (94.9) | 0.9 | 124 (25.1) | 0.1 | 205 (41.4) | 0.3 | 254 (51.3) | 0.07 | 344 (69.5) | 0.3 |
male (n = 110) | 104 (94.5) | 35 (31.8) | 51 (46.4) | 67 (60.9) | 82 (74.5) | |||||
Years of experience as a school principal | ||||||||||
1–5 (n = 209) | 193 (92.3) | 0.1 | 66 (31.6) | 0.1 | 95 (45.5) | 0.4 | 126 (60.3) | 0.1 | 156 (74.6) | 0.09 |
6–10 (n = 115) | 114 (99.1) | 28 (24.3) | 42 (36.5) | 52 (45.2) | 78 (67.8) | |||||
11–20 (n = 113) | 107 (94.7) | 28 (24.8) | 53 (46.9) | 58 (51.3) | 82 (72.6) | |||||
21–30 (n = 100) | 95 (95.0) | 26 (26.0) | 41 (41.0) | 51 (51.0) | 71 (71.0) | |||||
over 30 years (n = 68) | 65 (95.6) | 11 (16.2) | 25 (36.8) | 34 (50.0) | 39 (57.4) | |||||
Type of school | ||||||||||
primary school (n = 467) | 441 (94.4) | 0.4 | 120 (25.7) | 0.5 | 202 (43.3) | 0.4 | 242 (51.8) | 0.3 | 316 (67.7) | 0.01 |
secondary school (n = 138) | 133 (96.4) | 39 (28.3) | 54 (39.1) | 79 (57.2) | 110 (79.7) | |||||
Location of the school | ||||||||||
rural area (n = 300) | 278 (92.7) | 0.02 | 87 (29.0) | 0.1 | 141 (47.0) | 0.02 | 158 (52.7) | 0.8 | 212 (70.7) | 0.9 |
urban area (n = 305) | 296 (97.0) | 72 (23.6) | 115 (37.7) | 163 (53.4) | 214 (70.2) |
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Lewandowska, A.; Jankowski, M.; Gujski, M.; Andrzejczyk, A.; Teliga-Czajkowska, J.; Silczuk, A. Perspectives of School Principals on Mental Health Promotion and Prevention Among School-Aged Children—A 2025 Cross-Sectional Survey in Lodz Administrative Region in Poland. Healthcare 2025, 13, 1498. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13131498
Lewandowska A, Jankowski M, Gujski M, Andrzejczyk A, Teliga-Czajkowska J, Silczuk A. Perspectives of School Principals on Mental Health Promotion and Prevention Among School-Aged Children—A 2025 Cross-Sectional Survey in Lodz Administrative Region in Poland. Healthcare. 2025; 13(13):1498. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13131498
Chicago/Turabian StyleLewandowska, Aleksandra, Mateusz Jankowski, Mariusz Gujski, Agata Andrzejczyk, Justyna Teliga-Czajkowska, and Andrzej Silczuk. 2025. "Perspectives of School Principals on Mental Health Promotion and Prevention Among School-Aged Children—A 2025 Cross-Sectional Survey in Lodz Administrative Region in Poland" Healthcare 13, no. 13: 1498. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13131498
APA StyleLewandowska, A., Jankowski, M., Gujski, M., Andrzejczyk, A., Teliga-Czajkowska, J., & Silczuk, A. (2025). Perspectives of School Principals on Mental Health Promotion and Prevention Among School-Aged Children—A 2025 Cross-Sectional Survey in Lodz Administrative Region in Poland. Healthcare, 13(13), 1498. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13131498