The Role of Single-Sex Schoolingin Adolescent Well-Being : A Case of South Korea

Abstract

Prior research on single-sex schooling has mainly focused on its role in students' academic achievement. However, little attention has been paid to how a gender-separated environment affects adolescents' mental and physical health. In order to fill this void in the extant literature, this article investigates the role of single-sex schooling in a broader set of student well-being outcomes. Using data from the Korean Child Well-being Index Survey, we deploy propensity score models with school district fixed-effects to mitigate selection bias due to the non-random allocation of students to high school. Results suggest that gender-segregated environments have heterogeneous impacts on adolescent well-being by gender. Single-sex school attendance increases academic stress and BMI among girls, whereas it decreases boys physical activity and smoking behavior. We also find that gender differences in single-sex schooling effects are more pronounced in physical activity and smoking behavior. These findings highlight the gendered impacts of single-sex schooling on adolescent health and point to the need to examine its role in non-academic outcomes to provide a fuller picture of adolescent well-being. We discuss the implications of this study for future research and policy on adolescent health and school environments.