Subjective well-being is reciprocally associated with academic engagement: A two-wave longitudinal study

Students' Well-Being and Academic Engagement: A Multivariate Analysis of the Influencing Factors

This paper aims to identify the factors that are positively or negatively impacting students' well-being and their academic engagement. We used partial least-squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using the data collected through a questionnaire from four countries: Romania, Turkey, Slovakia, and Bulgaria. The model includes seven factors that influence the well-being of students and indirectly their academic engagement: stressors in the students' lives; professors' support; social support from family and friends; the students' perceived satisfaction in their lives; engaging in activities during their leisure time; self-exploration regarding their careers; and environmental exploration regarding their careers. The results show that all factors, except for stressors and environmental exploration regarding their careers, positively influence the students' well-being and thus their academic engagement. These findings are useful for university professors and managers in better organizing activities to increase academic performance.

Reciprocal relations between future time perspective and academic achievement among adolescents: A four-wave longitudinal study

INTRODUCTION

Adolescents' academic achievement is closely associated with their future time perspective. However, the reciprocal nature of this relationship remains ambiguous due to a lack of longitudinal studies. This study investigated the developmental trajectories of future time perspective and academic achievement among adolescents, as well as reciprocal relations between future time perspective and academic achievement.

METHODS

Between 2017 and 2019, we collected 373 adolescents' (baseline Mage = 14.48, SD = 1.90; 49% girls) future time perspective and academic achievement four times from Henan and Hunan Province, China. Each is separated by a 6-month interval.

RESULTS

Chinese adolescents' future time perspective was relatively stable. Regarding academic achievement, two distinct developmental trajectories of academic achievement were identified (i.e., high positive growth class and low negative growth class). Those who excel tended to experience an upward trajectory, while those with poorer grades continued to experience a downward trajectory. In the high positive growth class, the intercept of future time perspective was positively correlated with the rate of academic achievement growth, whereas, in the low negative growth class, it negatively predicted the rate of academic achievement decline. More importantly, reciprocal relations existed between future time perspective and academic achievement.

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescents' future time perspective may serve as a protective factor for academic achievement, while high academic achievement may also benefit future time perspective. Interventions to enhance academic achievement should prioritize cultivating adolescents' future perspectives. Additionally, preventing the adverse consequences of subpar academic achievement on future time perspective is imperative.

Teachers Matter More Than Sites and Facilities: Provincial-Level Educational Predictors of Adolescent Life Satisfaction

Purpose

Life satisfaction can predict students' school engagement and academic performance, and has shown significant regional differences among adolescents. The predictive effect of economic factors as regional characteristics on adolescent life satisfaction has been extensively examined; however, the regional educational factors that could predict adolescent life satisfaction remain unknown. This study aimed to identify provincial-level educational factors that can predict adolescent life satisfaction.

Methods

The participants comprised 16,737 students, aged 11-16 years (M age = 13.82; SD age = 0.77; 8767 girls, 7970 boys), from 31 provinces in China. Students completed measures on socioeconomic status and life satisfaction. Multilevel modeling was adopted in data analysis.

Results

Adolescent life satisfaction was positively correlated with family socioeconomic status, and negatively associated with age and academic ranking. Life satisfaction was lower for girls than boys. Some regional education development indicators could predict adolescent life satisfaction: ratio of students to teachers, ratio of students to teachers with master's degrees, and multimedia classroom size negatively correlated with adolescent life satisfaction; meanwhile per capita sports field area positively correlated with adolescent life satisfaction. Per capita education expenditure, classroom area, laboratory area, computer room area, language lab area, gymnasium area, green space area, sports field area, computers per student, number of books, and value of equipment and instruments could not significantly predict life satisfaction in this study.

Conclusion

The findings suggest that the life satisfaction of female adolescents, those in older age groups, with lower academic rankings and socioeconomic status, and those residing in regions with underdeveloped educational systems was relatively poor. These groups of adolescents should therefore be given special attention. To enhance their life satisfaction, some certain provinces should consider implementing measures such as increasing the number of teachers, reducing class sizes, and providing more opportunities for physical activity among junior middle school students.

Student psychological well-being in higher education: The role of internal team environment, institutional, friends and family support and academic engagement

Psychological well-being of students is an area of concern in higher education institutes across the world. Although several studies have explored the factors associated with students' psychological well-being, limited research has focused on the relation between the overall support for students and psychological well-being. Students of higher education may get formal support, in the form of team environment and institutional support; and informal support, in the form of family and friends' support. The purpose of this study is to examine the relation of these four kinds of support with psychological well-being of management students. We also examine the intervening role of academic engagement in this relationship. Analysis using structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression on data collected from 309 management students from Indian universities, shows that positive internal team environment, and institutional and family support positively relate to students' psychological well-being. Academic engagement partially mediates the relation between positive internal team environment and psychological well-being, and family support and psychological well-being. Also, academic engagement fully mediates the relation between institutional support and psychological well-being. The study highlights the significance of internal team environment and institutional support for students' academic engagement and psychological well-being, and the role of academic engagement in determining well-being. Based on these findings, we suggest interventions that can be undertaken by educational institutions to enhance psychological well-being of students. Theoretical implications and research avenues are discussed.

Subjective well-being among PhD students in mainland China: the roles of psychological capital and academic engagement

The mental well-being of PhD students is a major concern in higher education. However, very few studies have investigated the influencing factors of PhD students' subjective well-being (SWB) - an important indicator of mental well-being. Even no study on the influencing factors of PhD students' SWB has been undertaken in mainland China. Based on job demands-resources theory, the present study pioneers the investigation of the relationship between PhD students' psychological capital (PsyCap; comprising self-efficacy, hope, resilience, and optimism) and SWB (comprising positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction) in mainland China. It further examined the mediating role of academic engagement (comprising vigor, dedication, and absorption) in this relationship. PhD students (n = 376) from two comprehensive universities in Jiangsu province responded to an online survey. The results showed that (1) self-efficacy was positively associated with life satisfaction, hope was positively associated with positive affect, optimism was significantly associated with all three dimensions of SWB, but resilience was not significantly associated with any of the three SWB dimensions; and (2) dedication mediated the relationship between hope and life satisfaction and that between optimism and negative affect and life satisfaction, but vigor and absorption did not mediate any of the PsyCap-SWB relationships. Limitations and practical implications of this study are discussed.

Protocol for a hybrid type 3 effectiveness-implementation trial of a pragmatic individual-level implementation strategy for supporting school-based prevention programming

BACKGROUND

For approximately one in five children who have social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) challenges, accessible evidence-based prevention practices (EBPPs) are critical. In the USA, schools are the primary setting for children's SEB service delivery. Still, EBPPs are rarely adopted and implemented by front-line educators (e.g., teachers) with sufficient fidelity to see effects. Given that individual behavior change is ultimately required for successful implementation, focusing on individual-level processes holds promise as a parsimonious approach to enhance impact. Beliefs and Attitudes for Successful Implementation in Schools for Teachers (BASIS-T) is a pragmatic, multifaceted pre-implementation strategy targeting volitional and motivational mechanisms of educators' behavior change to enhance implementation and student SEB outcomes. This study protocol describes a hybrid type 3 effectiveness-implementation trial designed to evaluate the main effects, mediators, and moderators of the BASIS-T implementation strategy as applied to Positive Greetings at the Door, a universal school-based EBPP previously demonstrated to reduce student disruptive behavior and increase academic engagement.

METHODS

This project uses a blocked randomized cohort design with an active comparison control (ACC) condition. We will recruit and include approximately 276 teachers from 46 schools randomly assigned to BASIS-T or ACC conditions. Aim 1 will evaluate the main effects of BASIS-T on proximal implementation mechanisms (attitudes, subjective norms, self-efficacy, intentions to implement, and maintenance self-efficacy), implementation outcomes (adoption, reach, fidelity, and sustainment), and child outcomes (SEB, attendance, discipline, achievement). Aim 2 will examine how, for whom, under what conditions, and how efficiently BASIS-T works, specifically by testing whether the effects of BASIS-T on child outcomes are (a) mediated via its putative mechanisms of behavior change, (b) moderated by teacher factors or school contextual factors, and (c) cost-effective.

DISCUSSION

This study will provide a rigorous test of BASIS-T-a pragmatic, theory-driven, and generalizable implementation strategy designed to target theoretically-derived motivational mechanisms-to increase the yield of standard EBPP training and support strategies.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05989568. Registered on May 30, 2023.

The relationship between social support and academic engagement among university students: the chain mediating effects of life satisfaction and academic motivation

BACKGROUND

University students' academic engagement has a significant impact on their academic performance and career development.

METHODS

In order to explore the influential mechanisms of social support on university students' academic engagement and the mediating role of academic motivation and life satisfaction, this study used the Adolescent Social Support Scale, University Students' Academic Engagement Scale Questionnaire, Adolescent Student Life Satisfaction Scale and University Students' Academic Motivation Questionnaire, to conduct a questionnaire survey and empirical analysis on 2106 Chinese university students.

RESULTS

(1) social support significantly and positively predicts academic engagement; (2) social support influences academic engagement through the mediating effect of life satisfaction; (3) social support influences academic engagement through the mediating effect of academic motivation; (4) life satisfaction and academic motivation play a chain mediating role in the effect of social support on academic engagement.

CONCLUSIONS

This study contributes to understanding the underlying mechanisms of the relationship between social support and academic engagement, which in turn provides insights for universities and the departments concerned to make measures to improve the level of university students' academic engagement.

The healthy context paradox of bullying victimization and academic adjustment among Chinese adolescents: A moderated mediation model

Few empirical studies have specifically examined the underlying mechanisms of the "healthy context paradox" in Chinese cultural context. By constructing a moderated mediation model, the present study investigated the relationship between bullying victimization and academic adjustment, as well as the mediating effects of subjective well-being and the moderating role of classroom-level victimization. A sample of 631 adolescents (Mage = 13.75, SD = 0.74, 318 boys) were recruited from four schools in Hubei, Southern China. Results show that: (1) classroom-level victimization moderates the relationship between bullying victimization and academic adjustment. (2) Classroom-level victimization moderates the association through subjective well-being. This study confirms the healthy context paradox of bullying victimization and first reveals the mechanism of the mediating role of subjective well-being. Understanding the mechanisms that contribute to the health context paradox is crucial for developing targeted intervention strategies for individuals who experience ongoing bullying.

The bidirectional longitudinal association between health-related quality of life and academic performance in adolescents: DADOS study

PURPOSE

Although previous evidence has suggested a relationship between health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and academic performance, the directionality of this association is understudied and remains to be clarified. Thus, the primary objective of this study was to explore the bidirectional association between HRQoL and academic performance in adolescents between two timepoints with a 24-month interval. A secondary aim was to analyze whether this association varies between boys and girls.

METHODS

This is a bidirectional longitudinal analysis with 257 adolescents (13.9 ± 0.3 years at baseline) from the DADOS study. HRQoL was measured using the KIDSCREEN-10 questionnaire. Academic performance was assessed through academic grades and the Spanish version of the Science Research Associates Test of Educational Ability.

RESULTS

Cross-lagged analyses revealed that HRQoL at baseline was not associated with academic performance 24 months later, while all the academic grades and the overall score of academic abilities at baseline were positively associated with HRQoL at follow-up in adolescents. Results of the stratified analyses by sex were largely similar. Specifically, in girls, math, language, physical education, and grade point average at baseline were positively associated with HRQoL 24 months later, while in boys, all the academic grades indicators (except physical education), numeric ability, and the overall score of academic abilities at baseline were positively associated with HRQoL at follow-up.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that academic performance in early adolescence may predict HRQoL 24 months later. Health and education professionals could benefit from collaborating to achieve both improved academic performance and HRQoL in youth.

Emotional Exhaustion and Engagement in Higher Education Students during a Crisis, Lessons Learned from COVID-19 Experience in Italian Universities

Italian university students face an uncertain future characterised by a competitive neoliberal academic environment with high demands and a weak labour market that often cannot hire those who are best qualified. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated students’ uncertainty and negatively affected their well-being. The purpose of this study is to explore perceptions of academic life during the pandemic and to examine the relationship between study load, reduced academic performance, internet addiction, academic self-efficacy, and engagement and emotional exhaustion. A sample of university students (N = 10,298) from 11 Italian universities completed a self-report questionnaire about their academic and personal lives between May and June 2021. We performed two multiple linear regressions and one ANOVA to highlight gender differences. Results indicate that female students reported lower levels of engagement and academic self-efficacy, and higher levels of exhaustion and study demands compared to male students, while older students generally appear to exhibit higher levels of well-being. Study load, reduced academic performance, and internet addiction showed a negative association with engagement, particularly the first two, and a positive association with exhaustion, while self-efficacy was positively associated with engagement and negatively associated with exhaustion. The results suggest the need to introduce additional forms of support, such as psychological support, internet addiction awareness courses or counseling services.

Promoting hope in minoritized and economically disadvantaged students

Minoritized and economically disadvantaged (MED) students encounter a host of detrimental factors within the academic setting (e.g., racism, classism, low expectations). In order for them to be successful, ways must be found to help them achieve academically despite their disadvantageous academic environments. Recent research indicates that hope theory might provide a pathway for MED students to have a higher chance at success. In this review, how hope has the potential to take on a special significance for MED students as well as how it can be leveraged to increase their odd of academic and life success is discussed. In addition, recent research centered around promoting hope in MED students, both formally and informally, is reviewed. Altogether, this review has implications for cultivating hope in schools.

The association among teacher-student relationship, subjective well-being, and academic achievement: Evidence from Chinese fourth graders and eighth graders

This study compared the teacher-student relationship, subjective well-being, and academic achievement between fourth graders and eighth graders, and examined whether and how subjective well-being played a mediating role concerning teacher-student relationship and academic achievement across the two grades. The participants included 19,845 fourth graders and 11,691 eighth graders from a city in central China. The findings indicated that (1) compared with eighth graders, fourth graders reported significantly higher mean scores in the teacher-student relationship, subjective well-being, and academic achievements; (2) a positive teacher-student relationship can promote students' academic achievement both directly and indirectly through subjective well-being across the two groups; (3) The mediating effect of subjective well-being accounted for 42.8% of the total effects between teacher-student relationship and academic achievement for fourth graders, which was higher than that for eighth graders (22.7%). Limitations and future directions are elaborated.

“Parents are gone”: Understanding the unique and interactive impacts of affective and cognitive empathy on left-behind youth’s academic engagement

Although several studies have shown that left-behind adolescents are vulnerable regarding emotional and behavioral functions, much less research has focused on this group’s academic engagement. The relationship between distinct empathy subcomponents and academic engagement in left-behind youth (versus non-left-behind youth) is therefore largely unknown. To fill these knowledge gaps, the current study compared the academic engagement between left-behind and non-left-behind youth. This study subsequently examined the unique and interactive relationships among affective empathy, cognitive empathy, and left-behind status with academic engagement in a combined sample of left-behind and non-left-behind youth. In total, 323 left-behind youth and 737 non-left-behind youth (Mage = 13.05; 49.5% females) participated in this study. Findings, after adjusting for participants’ sociodemographic characteristics, revealed that left-behind youth did not differ significantly in academic engagement compared to non-left-behind youth. A four-step hierarchical regression analysis showed that both empathy components were positively related to academic engagement. Interaction analyses further exhibited a cross-over effect of affective and cognitive empathy for left-behind youth. Specifically, left-behind youth with high cognitive empathy seemed more susceptible to the influence of affective empathy on academic engagement, for better and for worse. In the presence of high affective empathy, left-behind youth with higher cognitive empathy reported the highest academic engagement, whereas the youth with higher cognitive empathy, in the presence of low affective empathy, reported the lowest. The current study highlights the unique and interactive roles of affective and cognitive empathy in left-behind youth’s academic engagement, including important conceptual and practical implications.

Social relationships and grit in English as a foreign language learning among high school students: A three-wave longitudinal study

This study examined the longitudinal reciprocal relations between students' grit and their perceptions of social relationships (teacher-student and peer relationships) in studying English as a foreign language (EFL). A total of 2,435 students from Grades 10-11 in China (Mage = 16.40 years old, 54.2% female) participated in the study on three occasions across 1 year. The three-wave cross-lagged analytic model results indicated that (a) peer relationship and grit reciprocally enhanced each other across both intervals; (b) the teacher-student relationship at Time 2 was influenced by Time 1 grit, but not vice versa. Nevertheless, the teacher-student relationship transactionally facilitated each other during the second interval (from Time 2 to Time 3). The multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CFA) results indicated that such relations remained stable across gender. The study's findings contribute to ongoing research delineating the dynamic system between social relationships and grit in EFL learning. It also reveals that males and females benefit similarly during social communications with peers and their English language teachers. Implications for educational practices were discussed.

Associations of hedonic and eudaimonic orientations with subjective experience and objective functioning in academic settings: The mediating roles of academic behavioral engagement and procrastination

The question of how the pursuit of happiness affects an individual’s actual well-being has received much scholarly attention in recent years. However, few studies have investigated the associations of happiness orientation with people’s subjective experience and objective functioning simultaneously. The current research examines the possibility that hedonic and eudaimonic orientations have different relationships with college students’ affective well-being and academic achievement, while taking into consideration the behavioral mechanism that underlies the process. We conducted online surveys to collect data including hedonic and eudaimonic orientations at the beginning of the semester and academic behavioral engagement, procrastination, and affective well-being at the end of the semester with a final sample of 566 Chinese undergraduate students. Their official grade point average for the semester was extracted from the university records system. The results confirmed that overall hedonic orientation was negatively associated with affective well-being and academic achievement, whereas eudaimonic orientation was positively associated with these outcomes. The study further found that both academic behavioral engagement and procrastination played mediating roles in the associations of happiness orientation with positive affect and academic achievement. However, only procrastination mediated the relationship between happiness orientation and negative affect. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

Measuring conscientiousness in Brazil and disentangling its relationships with subjective well-being, and academic involvement

Abstract

Providing a valid and reliable measure of conscientiousness constitutes a worthwhile endeavor to allow research and intervention in Brazil. This study aimed to adapt the Chernyshenko Conscientiousness Scales (CCS) into Brazilian Portuguese, evaluate their psychometric properties, and investigate the relationship between conscientiousness and academic involvement, taking into account the possible confound effect of subjective well-being (SWB). Two samples were studied to cross-validate the CCS's internal structure. Participants were university students (N1 = 332, N2 = 684) who answered the CCS and measures of SWB and academic involvement. Exploratory factor analysis showed that the CCS presented a five-factor solution corresponding to the previously replicated facets of industriousness, orderliness, self-control, traditionalism, and virtue. Most facets related positively to life satisfaction, positive affect, and involvement in academic activities, and negatively to negative affect. A structural model indicated strong associations of conscientiousness with SWB and academic engagement, suggesting more conscious students are happier and engage more in academic tasks. These results support the use of the CCS in Brazil.

Trial registration number and date of registration

32732820.6.0000.5334, July 8th, 2020.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-03552-7.

On the Relationship Between Student Well-Being and Academic Achievement

Abstract. Student well-being is considered as both an enabling condition for positive learning outcomes and an essential educational outcome itself. Previous studies have investigated the relationship between student well-being and academic achievement cross-sectionally, leaving unclear the direction of causality. Employing 3 waves of data spaced 1 year apart, this longitudinal study used a random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) to account for between-person effects and segregate within-person effects between positive and negative dimensions of student well-being and academic achievement. Participants were 404 secondary school students in Switzerland in grades 7–9. The RI-CLPMs suggested that over 1-year time intervals students’ academic achievement may positively influence positive dimensions of student well-being (i.e., positive attitudes toward school, enjoyment in school, positive academic self-concept) within secondary school students. Negative dimensions of student well-being (i.e., worries in school, physical complaints, and social problems) were not associated with academic achievement.

Subjective wellbeing and emotion regulation strategies: How are they associated with student engagement in online learning during Covid-19?

Background

The COVID‐19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to the world, creating significant impact on people's lives and subjective wellbeing. While previous studies have shown that students’ wellbeing and how they manage their emotions are critical to students’ learning, less research has considered their specific impacts on student engagement in online learning.

Aims

The aim of this study is to examine how students’ subjective wellbeing and emotion regulation strategies (viz cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) are associated with student engagement in online learning during the pandemic.

Sample

A total of 965 students from a university in China participated in the study.

Methods

The data were collected online during the COVID‐19 from March to July 2020, which included measures of wellbeing, emotion regulation strategie, and online learning engagement.

Results

Structural equation modelling results showed that wellbeing was positively associated with both the use of reappraisal and suppression. Moreover, mediation analysis showed that reappraisal partially mediated the relationship between wellbeing and all types of online learning engagement (including cognitive, emotional and behavioural engagements). Conversely, suppression was found to have a small mediating effect between wellbeing and behavioural engagement of online learning only. No such effect was found on cognitive and emotional engagements.

Conclusions

The findings provide evidence on the positive relationship between wellbeing and both the strategies of suppression and reappraisal during the pandemic. However, only reappraisal has positive impact on learning, suggesting the importance of effective regulation strategies on students’ online engagement. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Emotional Self-Regulation in Primary Education: A Heart Rate-Variability Biofeedback Intervention Programme

This study investigated the benefits of using a biofeedback intervention programme to train children in controlling their heart rate variability (HRV) through slow-paced breathing in real time. HRV biofeedback interventions focused on showing subjects to breathe such that their HRV numbers rise, improving their self-regulation. The HRV biofeedback intervention, focused on breathing, was conducted with primary education students aged between 7 and 11 years. The programme consisted of five biofeedback sessions, where students were taught to breathe six long and slow pairs of breaths per minute, to increase their HRV. After participation in the programme, students, regardless of gender, increased their HRV in a statistically significant fashion with a large effect, but this effect was not the same for all ages. HRV biofeedback interventions are rarely applied in schools and given the effectiveness of the intervention to improve HRV in children, the applied implications of our results in educational settings are discussed, especially taking into account the children’s ages.

Social Media-Driven Routes to Positive Mental Health Among Youth: Qualitative Enquiry and Concept Mapping Study

BACKGROUND

Social media influence almost every aspect of our lives by facilitating instant many-to-many communication and self-expression. Recent research suggests strong negative and positive impacts of social media exposure on youth mental health; however, there has been more emphasis on harmful relationships.

OBJECTIVE

Given the limited research on the benefits of social media for mental health, this qualitative study explored the lived experiences of youth to understand how social media use can contribute to positive mental health among youth.

METHODS

Using an interpretivist epistemological approach, 25 semistructured interviews and 11 focus group discussions were conducted with male and female youth of different ethnicities (aged 15 to 24 years) residing in Singapore, who were recruited through purposive sampling from the community. We conducted inductive thematic analysis and concept mapping to address the research aims.

RESULTS

We found that youth engaged in a wide range of activities on social media from connecting with family and friends to participating in global movements, and these served as avenues for building positive mental health. Based on participants' narratives, our analysis suggested that positive mental health among youth could be influenced by 3 features of social media consumption (connection with friends and their global community, engagement with social media content, and the value of social media as an outlet for expression). Through these, pathways leading to the following 5 positive mental health components were identified: (1) positive relationships and social capital, (2) self-concept, (3) coping, (4) happiness, and (5) other relevant aspects of mental health (for example, positivity and personal growth).

CONCLUSIONS

The study results highlight the integral role of social media in the lives of today's youth and indicate that they can offer opportunities for positive influence, personal expression, and social support, thus contributing to positive mental health among youth. The findings of our research can be applied to optimize engagement with youth through social media and enhance the digital modes of mental health promotion.

Longitudinal and reciprocal relationships between self-esteem, school adjustment, and happiness in Korean secondary school students

Although personal and environmental correlates of adolescents’ happiness have been found, the temporal direction of these relationships is less known. The present study explored the longitudinal and reciprocal relationships between self-esteem, school adjustment, and happiness during secondary school years in South Korea. Longitudinal data of 2,351 adolescents from three time points (Grades 7, 9, and 11) were drawn from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS) and were analyzed using autoregressive cross-lagged modeling. The results indicated that inter-individual differences in self-esteem, school adjustment, and happiness were moderately stable from Grades 7 to 11. Self-esteem and happiness, and self-esteem and school adjustment reciprocally predicted each other over time. The effects of self-esteem on happiness and school adjustment two years later were stronger than the reverse direction of effects. School adjustment and happiness were only indirectly interrelated through self-esteem over time. These longitudinal relationships did not differ between genders. The implications of the findings for future research and adolescent interventions are discussed.

Positive Family Environment, General Distress, Subjective Well-Being, and Academic Engagement among High School Students Before and During the COVID-19 Outbreak

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the family dynamics of most people worldwide as well as the mode in which students take classes. The impact of such changes on students’ well-being, academic engagement, and general distress remains unknown. Therefore, this study aims to test the structural relations among positive family environment (a measure of Positive Home-Based Parent Involvement [HBI]), subjective well-being (SWB), general distress, and academic engagement, focusing on Mexican high school students. A longitudinal study was conducted covering two time points: before (T1) and during (T2) the COVID-19 outbreak. A sample of 502 students answered questionnaires in T1 whereas 111 did so in T2. Analyses were conducted using Mplus software. Principal results showed that the positive and significant association between positive family environment and SWB did not substantially change from T1 to T2, whereas the relation between positive family environment and academic engagement became stronger. Data revealed that a positive family environment can play an important role in promoting academic engagement among adolescent students despite the risks brought about by sanitary lockdowns and the increase of family interactions. Results are discussed highlighting the importance of positive family environments and HBI on academic outcomes for Mexican high school students.

Motivation of UK graduate students in education: self-compassion moderates pathway from extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation

Academic motivation is recognised as a key factor for academic success and wellbeing. Highly motivated students actively engage with academic activities and maintain good wellbeing. Despite the importance of motivation in education, its relationship with engagement and wellbeing remains to be evaluated. Accordingly, this study explored the relationships between motivation, engagement, self-criticism and self-compassion among UK education postgraduate students. Of 120 postgraduate students approached, 109 completed three self-report scales regarding those constructs. Correlation, regression and moderation analyses were performed. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation were positively associated with engagement, whereas amotivation was negatively associated with it. Engagement positively predicted intrinsic motivation. Self-criticism and self-compassion moderated the pathway from extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation: higher self-criticism weakened the pathway, while higher self-compassion strengthened it. Findings suggest the importance of engagement in relation to cultivating intrinsic motivation of education students. Moreover, enhancing self-compassion and reducing self-criticism can help transfer extrinsic to intrinsic motivation.

The Impact of COVID-19-Induced Changes at Schools on Elementary Students' School Engagement

In spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the shutdown of schools in many countries. Emerging research documents the negative effects of the pandemic and particularly of the shutdown of schools on children's well-being. The present research extends this research by investigating how structural changes made in schools upon reopening to align with COVID-19 restrictions were related to children's emotional school engagement and subjective well-being. An online questionnaire with elementary school children and their parents conducted in Norway in June 2020 (N = 93 parent-child dyads; 46 boys, 47 girls; mean age children = 9.70 years, SD = 1.81) assessed structural changes in schools and children's coping with these changes, emotional school engagement, subjective well-being, self-reported performance in school, and demographics. Results showed that neither receiving a new teacher nor being assigned to a new (smaller) group were associated with negative outcomes. However, children who did not like their new group showed reduced emotional school engagement and subjective well-being, indicating that specific students particularly suffered from the pandemic-induced restrictions. The relationship between liking one's group and SWB was mediated by emotional school engagement. Applied and theoretical implications are discussed.

The Bidirectional Relationship Between Subjective Well-Being and Academic Achievement in Adolescence

The well-being of young people in relation to their school performance has received increased attention in recent years. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the longitudinal and reciprocal relationship between adolescents' subjective well-being and their academic achievements. The current study examined the bidirectional relationship between subjective well-being and academic achievement across two timepoints (T1 and T2) during the course of mid to late adolescence, i.e., in school year 9 (age 15), and school years 11-12 (ages 17-18). The study also investigated variation in the association as a function of adolescent gender. Data on subjective well-being and teacher-assigned school grades of 723 adolescents (48.7% girls) residing in Sweden were analyzed by estimating a series of cross-lagged path models. The findings suggest gender differences in the relationship as no associations were found among boys. Support for a bidirectional relationship between the constructs was only found for girls. For girls, higher subjective well-being at T1 was associated with higher academic achievements at T2, while higher academic achievements at T1 was associated with lower subjective well-being at T2. These findings highlight that the subjective well-being of adolescent girls may be important for their ability to perform at school, but their academic achievements may also inflict negatively on their subjective well-being.

Subjective well-being and academic performance among middle schoolers: A two-wave longitudinal study

INTRODUCTION

Previous studies have suggested that present subjective well-being promotes students' academic achievement. However, adolescents' subjective well-being tends to be future-oriented; for example, when adolescents think about the future, they have hopeful expectations, feel energized, or confused. Therefore, this 14-month follow-up study conducted in China aimed to establish the longitudinal relationships between present- and future-oriented well-being and academic achievement.

METHODS

Using two waves of data, this longitudinal study explored the bidirectional relationships between present- and future-oriented well-being and academic achievement among 189 Chinese middle school students (102 girls, 82 boys, 5 unknown) whose mean age was 13.76 at Time 1 and 14.78 at Time 2. The Adolescent Well-being Scale, which has six dimensions (present life satisfaction, present positive affect, present negative affect, hopeful future expectations, positive affect toward future life, and negative affect toward future life) was administered to all students at Time1 and Time 2, and academic scores were collected two weeks later. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

Cross-lagged analyses revealed that present life satisfaction, present positive affect, and positive affect toward future life at Time 1 were positively correlated with academic achievement at Time 2.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that both present- and future-oriented well-being are associated with later academic achievement. Teachers and parents should cultivate students' well-being by targeting not only present life satisfaction and positive affect but also positive feelings toward the future.

Psychological capital is associated with higher levels of life satisfaction and school belongingness

Psychological capital (PsyCap) has been associated with key organizational and well-being outcomes. However, limited investigations have been carried out regarding the role of PsyCap in the educational settings. The present study assessed the association of PsyCap with life satisfaction and school belongingness in the academic context. Four hundred and sixty-two Filipino high school students participated in the current investigation. Structural equation modeling showed that PsyCap was positively linked to school belongingness via the intermediate variable life satisfaction. An alternative structural model also provided evidence of the indirect effects of PsyCap on life satisfaction via school belongingness. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.