Psychological Impact of Boarding School

Penny Cavenagh, PhD, is currently a professor of health research and enterprise at the University of Suffolk, visiting professor at the University of Essex and a chartered psychologist. She has published extensively in books and academic journals in the field of medical management, medical education and dysfluency. She boarded for four years at an all-girls school in the early 1970s. Susan McPherson, PhD, is currently a professor of psychology and sociology at the University of Essex and has been a researcher in the field of mental health for 25 years after studying at the London School of Economics, University College London and Kings College London. She was a full-time boarder from age 8 to 18 during the 1980s and 1990s including three years at a junior boarding school. Jane Ogden, PhD, is currently a professor of health psychology at the University of Surrey where she has been teaching for the last 18 years. She has written 8 books relating to health psychology, eating behaviour, weight management, parenting and critical thinking and over 230 research papers on many aspects of health psychology.

‘A scholarly and nuanced study on the long-term psychological impacts of British boarding schools: while some people thrive in boarding schools, for too many others the adverse psychological impacts last a lifetime.’Benedict Rattigan, author and ex-boarder at Eton'Boarding is often misunderstood and misrepresented, but this invaluable book provides a wide, and evidence-informed, analysis of the sector. Importantly, the authors allow the voices of the former pupils themselves to speak and in doing so reveal a nuanced and complex series of personal narratives. This is a book that should be read not only by those who work in boarding schools, but by anyone involved in education and child psychology.'David James, co-editor of The State of Independence

• 1. British boarding schools on trial: Making the case for new evidence 2. British boarding schools, mental health and resilience: Survey research 3. The impact of boarding school on adult relationships: Men’s accounts 4. It’s not all down to boarding: Early family and peer relationships among boarders 5. The impact of boarding school on adult eating behaviour 6. How does boarding school influence feelings of loneliness? 7: The shadow side of boarding schools: Childhood sexual abuse and its aftermath 8. Having psychotherapy to help with boarding school experiences: The role of denial, shame and privilege 9. Escape, autonomy, friendship and resilience: Positive experiences of British boarding school 10. British boarding schools on trial: Making the case for ‘boarding family syndrome’