Am J Psychiatry 1977; 134:411-417
Copyright © 1977 by American Psychiatric Association
Boarding schools: effects on the mental health of Eskimo adolescents
J Kleinfeld and J Bloom
Whether boarding schools undermine the mental health of Eskimo and Indian
children has been a bitterly debated issue. The authors examined the
effects of four representative boarding schools on 132 Alaskan Eskimo
adolescents during their freshman and sophomore years. Forty- nine percent
of the freshmen developed school-related social and emotional disturbances;
25% of these problems were judged serious. High levels of emotional
disturbance were also found during the students' sophomore year. Although
simple environmental changes may temporarily reduce the rate of disturbance
among students, the long-term effects of boarding schools may still be
deleterious.
