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Early Adolescents' Emotional Well‐Being in the Classroom: The Role of Personal and Contextual Assets
Author(s) -
Oberle Eva
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of school health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.851
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1746-1561
pISSN - 0022-4391
DOI - 10.1111/josh.12585
Subject(s) - psychology , well being , positive youth development , structural equation modeling , developmental psychology , emotional well being , intervention (counseling) , social emotional learning , asset (computer security) , peer group , emotional exhaustion , personal development , self concept , social psychology , clinical psychology , burnout , statistics , mathematics , computer security , psychiatry , computer science , psychotherapist
BACKGROUND The objective was to predict early adolescents' emotional well‐being from personal and contextual assets in the classroom. Emotional well‐being is a key indicator of health. Aligned with the positive youth development (PYD) framework, a supportive classroom environment and positive relationships with teachers and peers were contextual assets in the present study; positive self‐concept was a personal asset. METHODS The sample was 406 grade 4 to 7 public elementary school students from diverse backgrounds (mean = 11.27 years; SD = 0.89; 50% female). Data were self‐, teacher‐, and peer‐reported. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses were used to evaluate model fit and identify significant pathways. RESULTS SEM indicated a good model fit. Overall, 68% of variability in early adolescents' emotional well‐being was explained. Positive self‐concept directly predicted emotional well‐being. Supportive classroom environment predicted emotional well‐being directly and indirectly through increases in positive social relationships and self‐concept. Positive social relationships predicted well‐being only indirectly through positive self‐concept. CONCLUSIONS Contextual and personal assets are central for early adolescents' emotional well‐being. The interrelation among assets needs to be considered when understanding, and ultimately promoting students' emotional well‐being. The present findings extend previous research and inform school‐based intervention and prevention programming and teacher professional development.