Boarding School Syndrome: The Essentials
Boarding School Syndrome: The Essential Read
Boarding school syndrome is an unofficial term describing adverse psychological and developmental outcomes from attending boarding school. These problems continue into adult life. Hence, the expression 'boarding school survivor'.
In recent times, this term has gained popularity through two books:
The Making of Them by Nick Duffell
Boarding School Syndrome by Joy Schaverien
Socioeconomically disadvantaged children and adults are particularly vulnerable to negative mental health outcomes (1). Boarding school syndrome is interesting because it is seen as a 'trauma of the privileged child'.
What is the boarding school disorder?
A 'syndrome' refers to a diagnosable cluster of problem mood, thinking and behaviour issues that occur together. The 'syndrome' in boarding school syndrome indicates that some believe we can observe co-occurring psychological difficulties in some students.
Suggested long term difficulties include:
Emotional difficulties (e.g., detachment from others)
Low mood and anxiety
Relationship problems and distorting intimate relationships (e.g., trusting others, forming bonds)
Identity implications (e.g., self-worth issues).
Proponents of this phenomenon suggest boarders may go on to encounter significant psychological and relationship issues in adulthood. Those with successful careers may still struggle in their personal lives (2).
'Boarding School Syndrome' is not an official psychiatric diagnosis. Furthermore, there is little good-quality scientific research.
Consequently, anecdotal experience and professional opinion comprise most of the commentary. Such perspectives are not necessarily invalid. We just need to avoid sweeping conclusions on this topic.
What is the ABCD boarding school syndrome?
Joy Schaverien (3) presents a framework to understand psychological problems called 'the ABC-D' of boarding school syndrome:
Abandonment: Separation from parents early in life is traumatic for children. This separation is viewed as an irrevocable loss for young children. Schaverien asserts this event constitutes a significant trauma.
Bereavement: Losing family and familiarity causes a bereavement response in early age (rather than 'homesickness').
Captivity: The boarding school environment is forced containment, not unlike a form of imprisonment.
Dissociation: Children detach from reality to cope with their circumstances.
These elements represent potential underlying causes of psychological difficulties. Some reference well-established psychological theories to explain the potential damage of boarding school (e.g., attachment theory).
The research
Published research is thin on the ground. We cannot yet draw firm conclusions about the nature and severity of any psychological distress caused directly by boarding school attendance.
Furthermore, some data contradict the claim that boarding schools damage young people.
Here are a few example studies:
One Australian study suggested boarding students experience higher levels of meaning, purpose, and life satisfaction than day students (4).
A Chinese study suggested that boarding school attendance links to higher loneliness levels but not overall mental health (5).
A Norwegian study indicated limited health outcome differences between boarders and non-boarders (6).
Understanding the relevance of different outcome measures and cross-cultural comparisons will take time and more research.
Mixed findings are likely partly due to study method variations, different samples, different outcome measures, etc.
However, experiences of boarding school are varied. Furthermore, some students will leave a healthy family environment, while others depart a toxic one. Boarding school may offer an escape from negative family experiences. Similarly, individual (e.g., outgoing vs introverted), school environment (e.g., amount of pastoral support for struggling students), and cultural factors may complicate attempts to draw direct links between boarding school and problems in adulthood.
This is not to say that boarding school is harmless. Numerous individuals report experiences leading to problems in adult life. The point here is that we don't have a clear picture of who is most vulnerable (and why), what factors increase/decrease the risk of later problems, and the nature of any subsequent distress.
Luckily, we do not need this information to assess and support those damaged by a school environment. But improving our scientific understanding of this issue improves our ability to create safer educational environments and helps us appreciate the scale of adverse outcomes.
Here are a couple of points to bear in mind here:
Boarding school attendance does not lead to inevitable psychological problems for everyone.
Psychological difficulties may have multiple causes. Therefore, it is difficult to 'prove' the impact of boarding school, at least from a research design perspective.
Summary
Boarding school syndrome is a potentially important topic. Our scientific understanding needs to improve. But there's no doubt people can suffer difficult and even traumatic experiences through live-in schooling.
A trained professional should always assess serious psychological distress. We encourage you to seek support if boarding school experiences adversely affect your life.
We are Coaching & Clinical Psychologists with extensive experience helping people conquer negative childhood experiences and other wellbeing issues. Read more about our work, watch practical skills videos or browse other articles. Get in touch anytime.
References
(1) Thomson, R. M., Igelström, E., Purba, A. K., Shimonovich, M., Thomson, H., McCartney, G., Reeves, A., Leyland, A., Pearce, A., & Katikireddi, S. V. (2022). How do income changes impact on mental health and wellbeing for working-age adults? A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet. Public health, 7(6), e515–e528. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00058-5
(2) Duffell, N. (2000). The making of them. London: Lone Arrow Press.
(3) Schaverien, J. (2015). Boarding school syndrome. London: Routledge.
(4) Martin, A. J., Papworth, B., Ginns, P., & D. Liem, G. A. (2014). Boarding School, Academic Motivation and Engagement, and Psychological Well-Being. American Educational Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831214532164
(5) Tang, B., Wang, Y., Gao, Y., Wu, S., Li, H., Chen, Y., & Shi, Y. (2020). The Effect of Boarding on the Mental Health of Primary School Students in Western Rural China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(21). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17218200
(6) Friborg, O., Sørlie, T., Schei, B., Javo, C., Sørbye, Ø., & Hansen, K. L. (2020). Do Childhood Boarding School Experiences Predict Health, Well-Being and Disability Pension in Adults? A SAMINOR Study. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022120962571
