School belonging and hope among at-risk youth: The contribution of academic support provided by youths' social support networks

Based on resilience and hope theories (Snyder, 2000; Ungar & Theron, 2020), in the present study, we explored the contribution of academic support provided by family, school staff and mentors, as well as the contribution of family-staff contact, to the hopefulness of 175 at-risk youth (M = 17.67; SD = 0.63), who had indicated having a mentor, and how school belonging mediated these relations. Structural equation modelling revealed that academic support provided by mentors and school staff contributed to youths' hopeful thinking. Whereas the support provided by mentors had a direct effect on hope, staff support contributed indirectly via school belonging. The discussion highlights the importance of academic support provided via youths' social networks and sheds light on the role of school belonging in increasing youths' hopefulness. Implications for practice highlight the importance of strengthening youths' aspirations, motivation and knowledge regarding their future goals in school settings.