The Academic Achievement and Thriving of Overweight Children from High-Poverty Urban Schools within an Optimized Student Support Intervention: Moderating Effects of Psychosocial and Familial Strengths and Needs

Abstract

Childhood obesity is a pervasive health issue in the United States. Research has demonstrated that various correlates are associated with the onset and maintenance of overweight status, including physical health conditions, psychological well-being, interpersonal relationships, family functioning, and educational attainment. Policymakers and educators have agreed that elementary and secondary schools are crucial settings for the promotion of healthy development and ameliorating obesity. Therefore, comprehensive school-based interventions that collaborate with community agencies are being implemented to improve the achievement and well-being of at-risk students. The present study focused on City Connects, an optimized student support intervention grounded in relational developmental systems theory that functions in predominantly high-poverty urban locations. City Connects recognizes students as possessing unique constellations of protective and risk factors (i.e., strengths and needs), and an integral aspect of the intervention is that it connects students to tailored services to enhance strengths and address needs. The endeavor of the present study was to examine K-5 students that City Connects identified as manifesting with overweight issues via a holistic, collaborative assessment process, and how these students differed from peers not designated as overweight. Findings indicated statistically significant differences across the groups, in terms of demographic characteristics, overall level of perceived risk, strengths and needs recognized, school-related academic and thriving outcomes, and the influence of specific psychosocial and familial strengths and needs on those school outcomes. Specifically, students presenting with overweight concerns were more likely to be from lower socioeconomic backgrounds; have a high association with special education service needs; represent a more intensive overall risk level; manifest a diverse array of strengths and needs across academic, social-emotional/behavioral, family, and health/medical domains; and mostly exhibit poorer school performance. The effects of certain strengths and needs moderated school performance differences in several instances. Implications for theory, policy, and practice are discussed, with recommendations for future research.