Previous research indicates that students who feel high levels of bonding or attachment to their school fare better than those with low school bonding across a range of academic, social, and emotional consequences. Yet, little is known about the factors that promote or influence students' school bonding. In an attempt to address this literature gap, the current study used a developmental contextual framework to investigate the impact of a number of factors upon adolescents' school bonding levels. Specifically, this study considered the role of mental health, gender, academic achievement, extracurricular participation, social support from peers, and social support from school staff upon adolescents' school bonding. Adolescents (N=252) in 10 th and 11 th grade completed self-report questionnaires assessing school bonding, mental health status, social support, and average hours per week of extracurricular participation. Prior academic achievement was assessed using students' end of year grades for the previous academic year in core subjects.
Results revealed that, when considered independently, prior academic achievement, mental health, social support from peers, social support from school staff, and extracurricular participation were all significant and influential factors for school bonding in adolescents. Prior academic achievement and social support from peers were only weakly associated with school bonding. Extracurricular participation and mental health were both moderately related to school bonding. Social support from school staff was an especially influential factor for school bonding. The gender differences that were hypothesized in this study were not supported. On the whole, males and females appeared to have similar risk and protective factors for school bonding, and those factors appeared to interact with one another in similar ways. The only exception was that social support from school staff appeared to be a much stronger predictor of school bonding for males as compared to females. Theoretical considerations and implications for future research and practice are discussed.
