Innovative Work Behavior Related to Student Mental Health Promotion Among Middle School Faculty and Staff

Mental health problems are a significant problem among early adolescents and are highly costly to society. Innovative work behaviors (IWB) of middle school faculty and staff are a potentially underused opportunity to address early adolescent mental health promotion. The purpose of this study was to explore IWB related to student mental health promotion in the middle school environment. Descriptive statistics, correlations, regressions, and multi-level modeling were used to examine associations and influence of faculty/staff, contextual, and school characteristics on IWB. School-level IWB was examined for associations with school-level perceptions of mental health service quantity and quality provided in participating middle schools. Longer time employed in K-12 education was associated with a statistically significant decrease in the degree of a faculty/staff member IWB. No statistically significant associations were found between school-level IWB and school level outcomes.