Skip to main content
Search
Search
    Quick Search anywhere
    Quick search in Citations
Advanced Search
Skip main navigationClose Drawer MenuOpen Drawer Menu
Previous article
Next article
Original Article

The Power of Everyday Peer Relatedness in Predicting Subjective Well-Being After School Transition

Published Online:September 30, 2021https://doi.org/10.1026/0049-8637/a000220

Abstract

Abstract. The transition from primary to secondary school represents a challenging life event. This study examined 108 children (age M = 10.11 years, SD = 0.44) in Germany during the first 12 weeks at a new school. Daily satisfaction and frustration of the basic need for relatedness were examined as predictors of subjective well-being versus ill-being and adjustment versus psychopathology. Subjective well-being or ill-being was assessed at weeks 3 – 4 and week 11 of the school year. In between, there was a 4-week period of daily assessments of perceived relatedness satisfaction and frustration. Teachers indicated each child’s psychological adjustment or psychopathology (e. g., emotional symptoms) in weeks 11 – 12. Daily relatedness satisfaction was associated with increases in positive affect from weeks 3 – 4 to week 11, while daily relatedness frustration was linked to an increase in negative affect and school anxiety. Furthermore, daily relatedness satisfaction was negatively linked to teacher-reported emotional symptoms and peer problems at weeks 11 – 12, and daily relatedness frustration was positively associated with teacher-reported conduct problems and hyperactivity-inattention.


Subjektives Wohlbefinden nach dem Schulübergang: Die Bedeutung täglicher sozialer Eingebundenheit

Zusammenfassung. Der Übergang an die weiterführende Schule stellt ein kritisches Lebensereignis für viele Kinder dar. Diese Studie untersuchte 108 Kinder (M=10.11 Jahre, SD=0.44) in Deutschland innerhalb der ersten 12 Wochen nach dem Übergang ans Gymnasium. Tägliche Erfüllung und Frustration des Bedürfnisses nach sozialer Zugehörigkeit in die Klassengemeinschaft dienten als Prädiktoren der Verläufe kindlichen Wohlbefindens sowie psychologischer Anpassung/Psychopathologie. Subjektives Wohlbefinden wurde in den Wochen 3 – 4 sowie in Woche 11 des Schuljahres erhoben. Dazwischen berichteten Kinder über 4 Wochen hinweg täglich ihre wahrgenommene soziale Eingebundenheit und Ausgrenzung in der Schule. Lehrkräfte berichteten die psychologische Anpassung/Psychopathologie jedes Kindes in den Wochen 11 – 12. Tägliche soziale Eingebundenheit ging mit einem Anstieg des positiven Affekts von Woche 3/4 zu Woche 11 einher, während tägliche soziale Ausgrenzung Anstiege des negativen Affekts und der Schulangst vorhersagte. Höhere soziale Eingebundenheit hing mit geringeren Lehrkraft-berichteten emotionalen Symptomen und Problemen mit Gleichaltrigen zusammen, während höhere soziale Ausgrenzung stärkere Verhaltensprobleme und Hyperaktivität-Unaufmerksamkeit vorhersagte.

Literatur

  • Baker, J. A., Dilly, L. J., Aupperlee, J. L., & Patil, S. A. (2003). The developmental context of school satisfaction: Schools as psychologically healthy environments. School Psychology Quarterly, 18 (2), 206 – 221. https://doi.org/10.1521/scpq.18.2.206.21861 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Ball, J., Lohaus, A., & Miebach, C. (2006). Psychische Anpassung und schulische Leistungen beim Wechsel von der Grundschule zur weiterführenden Schule. Zeitschrift für Entwicklungspsychologie und Pädagogische Psychologie, 38 (3), 101 – 109. https://doi.org/10.1026/0049-8637.38.3.101 First citation in articleLink, Google Scholar

  • Bartholomew, K. J., Ntoumanis, N., Ryan, R. M., & Thøgersen-Ntoumani, C. (2011). Psychological need thwarting in the sport context: Assessing the darker side of athletic experience. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 33 (1), 75 – 102. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.33.1.75 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117 (3), 497 – 529. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Borsch, F. (2018). Kooperatives Lernen: Theorie – Anwendung – Wirksamkeit (3rd ed.). Lehren und Lernen. Kohlhammer. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Bos, W., Bonsen, M., Gröhlich, C., Guill, K., & Scharenberg, K. (2009). KESS 7: Skalenhandbuch zur Dokumentation der Erhebungsinstrumente. HANSE – Hamburger Schriften zur Qualität im Bildungswesen (Bd. 4). Waxmann. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Bos, W., & Pietsch, M. (2006). KESS 4: Kompetenzen und Einstellungen von Schülerinnen und Schülern am Ende der Jahrgangsstufe 4 in Hamburger Grundschulen. Münster: Waxmann. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Brown, B. B., & Larson, J. (2009). Peer relationships in adolescence. In R. M. LernerL. D. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (2nd ed., pp. 74 – 103). Wiley. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Campbell, R., Boone, L., Vansteenkiste, M., & Soenens, B. (2018). Psychological need frustration as a transdiagnostic process in associations of self-critical perfectionism with depressive symptoms and eating pathology. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 74 (10), 1775 – 1790. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22628 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Cantin, S., & Boivin, M. (2016). Change and stability in children’s social network and self-perceptions during transition from elementary to junior high school. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28 (6), 561 – 570. https://doi.org/10.1080/01650250444000289 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Chen, B., Vansteenkiste, M., Beyers, W., Boone, L., Deci, E. L., van der Kaap-Deeder, J., Duriez, B., Lens, W., Matos, L., Mouratidies, A., Ryan, R. M., Sheldon, K. M., Soenens, B., Petegem, S. P., & Verstuyf, J. (2015). Basic psychological need satisfaction, need frustration, and need strength across four cultures. Motivation and Emotion, 39 (2), 216 – 236. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-014-9450-1 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Costello, E. J., Copeland, W., & Angold, A. (2011). Trends in psychopathology across the adolescent years: What changes when children become adolescents, and when adolescents become adults? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 52 (10), 1015 – 1025. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2011.02446.x First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95 (3), 542 – 575. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.95.3.542 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Earl, S. R., Taylor, I. M., Meijen, C., & Passfield, L. (2019). Young adolescent psychological need profiles: Associations with classroom achievement and well-being. Psychology in the Schools, 56 (6), 1004 – 1022. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22243 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Eccles, J. S. (1999). The development of children ages 6 to 14. Future of Children, 9 (2), 30 – 42. https://doi.org/10.2307/1602703 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Eccles, J. S., Midgley, C., Wigfield, A., Buchanan, C. M., Reuman, D., Flanagan, C., & Mac Iver, D. (1993). Development during adolescence: The impact of stage-environment fit on young adolescents’ experiences in schools and in families. American Psychologist, 48 (2), 90 – 101. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.48.2.90 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Eccles, J. S., Wigfield, A., Midgley, C., Reuman, D., Iver, D. M., & Feldlaufer, H. (1993). Negative effects of traditional middle schools on students’ motivation. Elementary School Journal, 93 (5), 553 – 574. https://doi.org/10.1086/461740 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Fenzel, L. M. (2000). Prospective study of changes in global self-worth and strain during the transition to middle school. Journal of Early Adolescence, 20 (1), 93 – 116. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431600020001005 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Gillison, F., Standage, M., & Skevington, S. (2008). Changes in quality of life and psychological need satisfaction following the transition to secondary school. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 78(Pt. 1), 149 – 162. https://doi.org/10.1348/000709907X209863 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Goodman, A., Lamping, D. L., & Ploubidis, G. B. (2010). When to use broader internalising and externalising subscales instead of the hypothesised five subscales on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ): Data from British parents, teachers and children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38 (8), 1179 – 1191. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-010-9434-x First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Goodman, R. (2001). Psychometric properties of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 40 (11), 1337 – 1345. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-200111000-00015 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Grills-Taquechel, A. E., Norton, P., & Ollendick, T. H. (2010). A longitudinal examination of factors predicting anxiety during the transition to middle school. Anxiety Stress Coping, 23 (5), 493 – 513. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615800903494127 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Hascher, T., & Edlinger, H. (2009). Positive Emotionen und Wohlbefinden in der Schule – ein Überblick über Forschungszugänge und Erkenntnisse. Psychologie in Erziehung und Unterricht, 56, 105 – 122. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Hirsch, B. J., & DuBois, D. L. (1992). The relation of peer social support and psychological symptomatology during the transition to junior high school: A two-year longitudinal analysis. American Journal of Community Psychology, 20 (3), 333 – 347. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00937913 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Kessler, R. C., Avenevoli, S., Costello, E. J., Georgiades, K., Green, J. G., Gruber, M. J., Jian-ping, H., Koretz, D., McLaughlin, K. A., Petukhova, M., Sampson, N. A., Zaslavsky, A. M., & Merikangas, K. R. (2012). Prevalence, persistence, and sociodemographic correlates of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication Adolescent Supplement. Archives of General Psychiatry, 69 (4), 372 – 380. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.160 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Klasen, H., Woerner, W., Wolke, D., Meyer, R., Overmeyer, S., Kaschnitz, W., Rothenberger, A., & Goodman, R. (2000). Comparing the German versions of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ-Deu) and the Child Behavior Checklist. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 9 (4), 271 – 276. https://doi.org/10.1007/s007870070030 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Knoppick, H., Becker, M., Neumann, M., Maaz, K., & Baumert, J. (2015). Der Einfluss des Übergangs in differenzielle Lernumwelten auf das allgemeine und schulische Wohlbefinden von Kindern. Zeitschrift für Pädagogische Psychologie, 29(3 – 4), 1 – 13. https://doi.org/10.1024/1010-0652/a000158 First citation in articleLink, Google Scholar

  • Knoppick, H., Becker, M., Neumann, M., Maaz, K., & Baumert, J. (2016). Das subjektive Erleben des Übergangs in die weiterführende Schule. Zeitschrift für Entwicklungspsychologie und Pädagogische Psychologie, 48 (3), 129 – 143. https://doi.org/10.1026/0049-8637/a000152 First citation in articleLink, Google Scholar

  • Kreutzmann, M., Zander, L., & Webster, G. D. (2018). Dancing is belonging! How social networks mediate the effect of a dance intervention on students’ sense of belonging to their classroom. European Journal of Social Psychology, 48 (3), 240 – 254. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2319 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Krull, J., Wilbert, J., & Hennemann, T. (2018). Does social exclusion by classmates lead to behaviour problems and learning difficulties or vice versa? A cross-lagged panel analysis. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 33 (2), 235 – 253. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2018.1424780 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Leonhardt, A., Könen, T., Dirk, J., & Schmiedek, F. (2016). How differentiated do children experience affect? An investigation of the within- and between-person structure of children’s affect. Psychological Assessment, 28 (5), 575 – 585. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000195 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Lonigan, C. J., Phillips, B. M., & Hooe, E. S. (2003). Relations of positive and negative affectivity to anxiety and depression in children: Evidence from a latent variable longitudinal study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71 (3), 465 – 481. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.71.3.465 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Lüdtke, O., Marsh, H. W., Robitzsch, A., Trautwein, U., Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. (2008). The multilevel latent covariate model: A new, more reliable approach to group-level effects in contextual studies. Psychological Methods, 13 (3), 203 – 229. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012869 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131 (6), 803 – 855. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.803 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Martin, A. J., & Dowson, M. (2009). Interpersonal relationships, motivation, engagement, and achievement: Yields for theory, current Issues, and educational practice. Review of Educational Research, 79 (1), 327 – 365. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654308325583 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • McArdle, J. J. (2009). Latent variable modeling of differences and changes with longitudinal data. Annual Review of Psychology, 60 (1),, 577 – 605. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163612 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Petersen, A. C., & Hamburg, B. A. (1986). Adolescence: A developmental approach to problems and psychopathology. Behavior Therapy (17), 480 – 499. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Puschner, F. (2010). Transition from secondary school to secondary modern school within the German education system. International Journal of Transitions in Childhood (4), 26 – 36. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Rodríguez-Meirinhos, A., Antolín-Suárez, L., Brenning, K., Vansteenkiste, M., & Oliva, A. (2020). A bright and a dark path to adolescents’ functioning: The role of need satisfaction and need frustration across gender, age, and socioeconomic status. Journal of Happiness Studies, 21, 95 – 116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-018-00072-9 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Roeser, R. W., Eccles, J. S., & Sameroff, A. J. (1998). Academic and emotional functioning in early adolescence: Longitudinal relations, patterns, and prediction by experience in middle school. Development and Psychopathology, 10 (2), 321 – 352. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579498001631 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Rosseel, Y. (2012). Lavaan: An R package for structural equation modeling and more. Version 0.5 – 12 (BETA). Journal of Statistical Software, 48 (2), 1 – 36. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Rubin, K. H., Bowker, J. C., McDonald, K. L., & Menzer, M. (2013). Peer relationships in childhood. In P. D. Zelazo (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of developmental psychology: Vol. 2. Self and other (Vol. 2, pp. 242 – 275). Oxford: Oxford University Press. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2018). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. New York, NY: Guilford Press. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Sayler, M. F., & Brookshire, W. K. (1993). Social, emotional, and behavioral adjustment of accelerated students, students in gifted classes, and regular students in eighth grade. Gifted Child Quarterly, 37 (4), 150 – 154. https://doi.org/10.1177/001698629303700403 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Schmidt, A., Dirk, J., & Schmiedek, F. (2019). The importance of peer relatedness at school for affective well‐being in children: Between‐ and within‐person associations. Social Development, 28 (4), 873 – 892. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12379 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Schmidt, A., Dirk, J., Neubauer, A. B., & Schmiedek, F. (2020). Evaluating sociometer theory in children’s everyday lives: Inclusion, but not exclusion by peers at school is related to within-day change in self-esteem. European Journal of Personality. Advance online publication https://doi.org/10.1177/0890207020962328 First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Schmidt, A., Neubauer, A. B., Dirk, J., & Schmiedek, F. (2020). The bright and the dark side of peer relationships: Differential effects of relatedness satisfaction and frustration at school on affective well-being in children’s daily lives. Developmental Psychology, 56 (8), 1532 – 1546. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000997 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Shell, M. D., Gazelle, H., & Faldowski, R. A. (2014). Anxious solitude and the middle school transition: A diathesis × stress model of peer exclusion and victimization trajectories. Developmental Psychology, 50 (5), 1569 – 1583. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035528 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Sirsch, U. (2003). The impending transition from primary to secondary school: Challenge or threat? International Journal of Behavioral Development, 27 (5), 385 – 395. https://doi.org/10.1080/01650250344000082 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Stone, L. L., Otten, R., Engels, R. C. M. E., Vermulst, A. A., & Janssens, J. M. A. M. (2010). Psychometric properties of the parent and teacher versions of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire for 4- to 12-year-olds: A review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 13 (3), 254 – 274. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-010-0071-2 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Tian, L., Zhang, X., & Huebner, E. S. (2018). The effects of satisfaction of basic psychological needs at school on children’s prosocial behavior and antisocial behavior: The mediating role of school satisfaction. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1 – 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00548 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Twenge, J. M., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2002). Age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, and birth cohort difference on the children’s depression inventory: A meta-analysis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111 (4), 578 – 588. https://doi.org/10.1037//0021-843X.111.4.578 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • van Ophuysen, S. (2008). Zur Veränderung der Schulfreude von Klasse 4 bis 7. Zeitschrift für Pädagogische Psychologie, 22 (34), 293 – 306. https://doi.org/10.1024/1010-0652.22.34.293 First citation in articleLink, Google Scholar

  • van Ophuysen, S. (2009). Moving to secondary school: On the role of affective expectations in a tracking school system. European Educational Research Journal, 8 (3), 434 – 446. https://doi.org/10.2304/eerj.2009.8.3.434 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Vandenkerckhove, B., Brenning, K., Vansteenkiste, M., Luyten, P., & Soenens, B. (2019). The explanatory role of basic psychological need experiences in the relation between dependency, self-criticism and psychopathology in adolescence. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 41 (4), 574 – 588. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-019-09719-0 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Waters, S. K., Lester, L., Wenden, E., & Cross, D. (2012). A theoretically grounded exploration of the social and emotional outcomes of transition to secondary school. Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 22 (2), 190 – 205. https://doi.org/10.1017/jgc.2012.26 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • West, P., Sweeting, H., & Young, R. (2010). Transition matters: Pupils’ experiences of the primary–secondary school transition in the west of Scotland and consequences for well‐being and attainment. Research Papers in Education, 25 (1), 21 – 50. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671520802308677 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Zeedyk, M. S., Gallacher, J., Henderson, M., Hope, G., Husband, B., & Lindsay, K. (2003). Negotiating the transition from primary to secondary school: Perceptions of pupils, parents, and teachers. School Psychology International, 24 (1), 67 – 79. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143034303024001010 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Zurbriggen, C., & Venetz, M. (2016). Soziale Partizipation und aktuelles Erleben im gemeinsamen Unterricht. Empirische Pädagogik, 30 (1), 98 – 112. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar