Penny Cavenagh, Susan McPherson & Jane Ogden, eds (2023) The Psychological Impact of Boarding School – The Trunk in the Hall, Abingdon: Routledge

The Psychological Impact of Boarding School is a collection of research-based essays answering a range of questions about boarding school and its long-term impact.

Through a combination of original in-depth first-person narratives as well as larger scale surveys, this book aims to fill gaps in current boarding school research and present new findings. Topics addressed include gender differences, eating behaviour, loneliness, mental health and relationships, the differences between younger and older boarders, and ex-boarder experiences of therapy.

The research results highlight a key role in the age that children start boarding, the way that long-term psychological influences of friendships formed at school, and the larger role that parent and family relationships play in the psychological lives of boarders. Through these findings, the book ultimately challenges the current understanding of  ‘boarding school syndrome’, proposing a move beyond the term and its concept.

Available here.

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