Experiences of School as a Mediator between Interpersonal Competence and Happiness in Adolescents
Abstract
The main purpose of this research is to examine the mediating role of the perception of school experiences in the relationship between interpersonal competence and happiness in adolescent. The participants in the study consisted of a total of 268 students, 104 females (39%) and 164 males (61%), attending various high schools in a city in the mid-Black Sea region. The participating students’ ages ranged between 14 and 18, with an average age of 16.22 (SD = 1.2). In order to gather data the “Interpersonal Competence Scale”, “Perceived School Experience Scale ” and “Oxford Happiness Scale” were used as measures. According to the results of the research, interpersonal competence predicts perceptions of school experience and happiness, perception of school experience predicts happiness. Analysis by structural equation modeling revealed that the perception of school experience has a partial mediating role in relationship between interpersonal competence and happiness in adolescents. The research findings are discussed within the context of the related literature and some suggestions are provided for researchers and practitioners in the field of mental health.
Downloads
References
Allen, K. A., & Bowles, T. (2012). Belonging as a guiding principle in the education of adolescents. Australian Journal of Educational & Developmental Psychology, 12, 108-119.
Akın, U. (2015). Do school experiences predict life satisfaction in Turkish college students?. International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 7(1), 87-96.
Anderson-Butcher, D., Amorose, A., Iachini, A., & Ball, A. (2012). The development of the perceived school experiences scale. Research on Social Work Practice, 22(2), 186-194.
Arnett, J. (1992). Reckless behavior in adolescence: A developmental perspective. Developmental Review, 12(4), 339-373.
Ash, C., & Huebner, E. S. (2001). Environmental events and life satisfaction reports of adolescents a test of cognitive mediation. School Psychology International, 22(3), 320-336.
Aypay, A., & Eryılmaz, A. (2011). Relationships of high school sdutent’subjective well-being and school burnout. International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 3(1), 181-199.
Bandalos, D. L., & Finney, S. J. (2001). Item parceling issues in structural equation modelling. In G. A. Marcoulides & R. E. Schumacker (Eds.), New developments and techniques in structural equation modeling (pp. 269-296).
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Baron, R. M. ve Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173-1182
Baytemir, K. (2014). The mediation of interpersonal competence in the relationship between parent and peer attachment and subjective well-being in adolescence. Dissertation thesis, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey.
Baytemir, K. (2016). The mediation of interpersonal competence in the relationship between parent and peer attachment and subjective well-being in adolescence. Egitim ve Bilim, 41(186), 69-91.
Ben-Zur, H. (2003). Happy adolescents: The link between subjective well-being, internal resources, and parental factors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 32(2), 67-79.
Birch, S. H., & Ladd, G. W. (1997). The teacher-child relationship and children's early school adjustment. Journal of School Psychology, 35(1), 61-79.
Buhrmester, D., Furman, W., Wittenberg, M.T., & Reis, H.T. (1988). Five domains of interpersonal competence in peer relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55 (6), 991-1008.
Buhrmester, D. (1990). Intimacy of friendship, interpersonal competence, and adjustment during preadolescence and adolescence. Child Development, 61(4), 1101-1111.
Cunningham, N. J. (2007). Level of bonding to school and perception of the school environment by bullies, victims, and bully victims. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 27(4), 457-478.
Demir, M., Özdemir, M., & Weitekamp, L. A. (2007). Looking to happy tomorrows with friends: Best and close friendships as they predict happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 8(2), 243-271.
Demir, M., Jaafar, B., Bilyk, N., & Ariff, M.R.M. (2012). Social skills, friendship and happiness: a cross-cultural investigation. The Journal of Social Psychology, 152 (3), 379-385.
Dew, T., & Huebner, E. S. (1994). Adolescents' perceived quality of life: An exploratory investigation. Journal of School psychology, 32(2), 185-199.
Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95 (3), 542-575.
Diener, E., & Seligman, M.E.P. (2004). Beyond money toward an economy of well-being. Psychologıcal Science in the Publıc Interest, 5 (1). 1-31.
Doğan, T., & Çötok, N. A. (2011). Oxford mutluluk ölçeği kısa formunun Türkçe uyarlaması: Geçerlik ve güvenirlik çalışması. Türk Psikolojik Danışma ve Rehberlik Dergisi, 4(36), 165-170.
Duy, B., & Yıldız, M. A. (2014). Farklı zorbalık statüsüne sahip erinlerde okula bağlanma ve yalnızlık. Eğitim ve Bilim, 39(174), 173-188. doi: 10.15390/EB.2014.2435
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.
Eryılmaz, A. (2012A). Ergenler öznel iyi oluş düzeylerini, çevreyle ilişkiler aracılığıyla nasıl artırırlar?. TAF Preventive Medicine Bulletin, 11(4). 407-414.
Flouri, E., & Buchanan, A. (2003). The role of father ınvolvement and mother ınvolvement in adolescents' psychological well‐being. British Journal of Social Work, 33(3), 399-406.
Fortier, M. S., Vallerand, R. J., & Guay, F. (1995). Academic motivation and school performance: Toward a structural model. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 20(3), 257-274.
Gilman, R., & Huebner, S. (2003). A review of life satisfaction research with children and adolescents. School Psychology Quarterly, 18(2), 192-205.
Goodenow, C. (1993). The psychological sense of school membership among adolescents: Scale development and educational correlates. Psychology in the Schools, 30(1), 79-90.
Gottfried, A. E. (1990). Academic intrinsic motivation in young elementary school children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(3), 525-538.
Helsen, M., Vollebergh, W., & Meeus, W. (2000). Social support from parents and friends and emotional problems in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 29(3), 319-335.
Joronen, K., & Åstedt‐Kurki, P. (2005). Familial contribution to adolescent subjective well‐being. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 11(3), 125-133.
Joyce, H. D., & Early, T. J. (2014). The impact of school connectedness and teacher support on depressive symptoms in adolescents: A multilevel analysis. Children and Youth Services Review, 39, 101-107.
Keyes, C. L., Shmotkin, D., & Ryff, C. D. (2002). Optimizing well-being: the empirical encounter of two traditions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(6), 1007-1022.
Kidger, J., Araya, R., Donovan, J., & Gunnell, D. (2012). The effect of the school environment on the emotional health of adolescents: a systematic review. Pediatrics, peds-2011.
Lent, R. W., do Céu Taveira, M., Sheu, H. B., & Singley, D. (2009). Social cognitive predictors of academic adjustment and life satisfaction in Portuguese college students: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 74(2), 190-198.
Lerner, R. M., Almerigi, J. B., Theokas, C., & Lerner, J. V. (2005). Positive youth development a view of the issues. The journal of early adolescence, 25(1), 10-16.
Laghi, F., Pallini, S., Baumgartner, E., & Baiocco, R. (2016). Parent and peer attachment relationships and time perspective in adolescence: Are they related to satisfaction with life?. Time & Society, 25(1), 24-39.
Larson, R. W. (2000). Toward a psychology of positive youth development. American psychologist, 55(1), 170.
Libbey, H. P. (2004). Measuring student relationships to school: Attachment, bonding, connectedness, and engagement. Journal of School Health, 74(7), 275-283.
Libbey, H. P. (2007). School connectedness: Influence above and beyond family connectedness. United states: UMI.
Lee, V. E., Smith, J. B., Perry, T. E., & Smylie, M. A. (1999). Social Support, Academic Press, and Student Achievement: A View from the Middle Grades in Chicago. Improving Chicago's Schools. A Report of the Chicago Annenberg Research Project.
Márquez, P. G. O., Martín, R. P., & Brackett, M. A. (2006). Relating emotional intelligence to social competence and academic achievement in high school students. Psicothema, 18(Suplemento), 118-123.
McLaughlin, C., & Clarke, B. (2010). Relational matters: A review of the impact of school experience on mental health in early adolescence. Educational and Child Psychology, 27(1), 91.
Meece, J. L., Anderman, E. M., & Anderman, L. H. (2006). Classroom goal structure, student motivation, and academic achievement. Annu. Rev. Psychol., 57, 487-503.
Myers, D. G., & Diener, E. (1995). Who is happy?. Psychological Science, 6(1), 10-19.
Park, N. (2004). The role of subjective well-being in positive youth development. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 591(1), 25-39.
Murphy, J.F., Weil, M., Hallinger, P., Mitman, A. (1982). Academic Press: Translating High Expectations into School Policies and Classroom Practices. Educational Leadership, 40(3): 22-26.
Perdue, N. H., Manzeske, D. P., & Estell, D. B. (2009). Early predictors of school engagement: Exploring the role of peer relationships. Psychology in the Schools, 46(10), 1084-1097.
Piko, B. F., & Hamvai, C. (2010). Parent, school and peer-related correlates of adolescents' life satisfaction. Children and Youth Services Review, 32(10), 1479-1482.
Pittman, L. D., & Richmond, A. (2007). Academic and psychological functioning in late adolescence: The importance of school belonging. The Journal of Experimental Education, 75(4), 270-290.
Raboteg-Saric, Z., & Sakic, M. (2014). Relations of parenting styles and friendship quality to self-esteem, life satisfaction and happiness in adolescents. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 9(3), 749-765.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 141-166.
Schwerdtfeger Gallus, K. L., Shreffler, K. M., Merten, M. J., & Cox Jr, R. B. (2015). Interpersonal Trauma and Depressive Symptoms in Early Adolescents: Exploring the Moderating Roles of Parent and School Connectedness. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 35(7), 990-1013.
Seligman, M. E., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology an introduction. American Psychologist, 55 (1), 5- 14.
Segrin, C., & Taylor, M. (2007). Positive interpersonal relationships mediate the association between social skills and psychological well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 43(4), 637-646.
Simons‐Morton, B. G., & Crump, A. D. (2003). Association of parental involvement and social competence with school adjustment and engagement among sixth graders. Journal of School Health, 73(3), 121-126.
Suldo, S. M., Friedrich, A. A., White, T., Farmer, J., Minch, D., & Michalowski, J. (2009). Teacher support and adolescents' subjective well-being: A mixed-methods investigation. School psychology review, 38(1), 67.
Stiglbauer, B., Gnambs, T., Gamsjäger, M., & Batinic, B. (2013). The upward spiral of adolescents' positive school experiences and happiness: Investigating reciprocal effects over time. Journal of school psychology, 51(2), 231-242.
Uslu, F., & Gizir, S. (2017). School Belonging of Adolescents: The Role of Teacher–Student Relationships, Peer Relationships and Family Involvement. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice 17(1), 21–40.
Yıldız, M. A., & Kutlu, M. (2015). Erinlerde okula bağlanmanın yordayıcısı olarak sosyal kaygı ve depresif belirtilerin incelenmesi. Mustafa Kemal Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 12(31), 332-345.
Wentzel, K. R. (1991). Relations between social competence and academic achievement in early adolescence. Child development, 62(5), 1066-1078.
Welsh, M., Parke, R. D., Widaman, K., & O'Neil, R. (2001). Linkages between children's social and academic competence: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of School Psychology, 39(6), 463-482.
The works published in this journal are subject to the following terms:
1. The Publications Service of the University of Murcia (the publisher) retains the property rights (copyright) of published works, and encourages and enables the reuse of the same under the license specified in paragraph 2.
© Servicio de Publicaciones, Universidad de Murcia, 2022
2. The works are published in the online edition of the journal under a Creative Commons Reconocimiento-CompartirIgual 4.0 (legal text). You can copy, use, distribute, transmit and publicly display, provided that: i) you cite the author and the original source of publication (journal, editorial and URL of the work), ii) are not used for commercial purposes, iii ) mentions the existence and specifications of this license.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
3. Conditions of self-archiving. Is allowed and encouraged the authors to disseminate electronically pre-print versions (version before being evaluated and sent to the journal) and / or post-print (version reviewed and accepted for publication) of their works before publication, as it encourages its earliest circulation and diffusion and thus a possible increase in its citation and scope between the academic community. RoMEO Color: Green.
