Abstract
This study aimed to identify multiple co-developmental trajectories of the three components (i.e., school satisfaction, positive affect in school and negative affect in school) of subjective well-being (SWB) in school and their relations to predictors and outcomes among Chinese elementary school students. A total of 2756 students (Mage = 9.91 years, SD = 0.72; 47% girls) completed a packet of measures on four occasions at 6-month intervals. Latent class growth analyses identified four co-developmental groups (i.e., flourishing, at-risk, congruently moderate-stable, and congruently high-stable). Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that group membership was predicted by peer victimization, maltreatment by teachers, and academic achievement. Students in the at-risk group reported the most internalizing and externalizing problems while students in the flourishing group reported the fewest internalizing and externalizing problems. The findings highlighted the importance of subgroup differences in understanding the progression of SWB in school and the need for universal screening, dynamic monitoring, and interventions tailored to the unique characteristics of the subgroups.
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This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31971005), Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (No. 2021A1515012515), and the Major Program of the National Social Science Foundation of China (No. 19ZDA360).
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Li, X., Huebner, E.S. & Tian, L. Co-Developmental Trajectories of Components of Subjective Well-Being in School: Associations with Predictors and Outcomes Among Elementary School Students. School Mental Health 14, 738–752 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-022-09500-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-022-09500-x