Do social skills of head teachers affect the mental health of students?

Considerable scientific evidence highlights the critical role teachers play in student development, yet little is known about how their non-cognitive skills affect student mental well-being. This study addresses this gap by providing quasi-experimental evidence on the causal impact of head teacher sociability on student mental health. Using nationally representative data on randomly class-assigned students in Chinese middle schools, we show that a socially skilled head teacher significantly improves student mental health but has no discernible impact on their academic performance. Analyses of underlying mechanisms indicate that sociable head teachers are more likely to adopt uplifting pedagogical practices, foster positive relationships with students, and create supportive classroom environments. A decomposition analysis confirms that these three channels contribute substantially to the overall effect. By comparison, the sociability of core subject teachers exerts a minimal effect on student mental health. Our findings underscore the unique influence of head teachers and the importance of their sociability in fostering student psychological well-being.