The Relationship Between School Satisfaction and Psychological Well-Being of Secondary School Students: The Mediating Role of Happiness at School

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the mediating role of happiness at school in the relationship between secondary school students' school satisfaction and psychological well-being. A total of 367 secondary school students, including 204 girls (55.6%) and 163 boys (44.4%), participated in the study. While collecting the data for the study, Personal Information Form, Overall School Satisfaction Scale for Children (OSSS-C), Stirling Children’s Well-Being Scale (SCWBS), and School Children's Happiness Inventory (SCHI) were used. First, descriptive statistics of the collected data were calculated and the relationships between the variables were determined by the correlation coefficient. Mediation analysis in the research was made using structural equation modeling. As a result of the analysis, it was seen that the school satisfaction of secondary school students positively predicted both their psychological well-being and their happiness at school. Similarly, secondary school students' happiness at school positively predicted their psychological well-being. In addition, as a result of the structural equation analysis, it was seen that happiness at school has a partial mediator role in the relationship between school satisfaction and the psychological well-being of secondary school students. Bootstrap confidence intervals (%95) were calculated to see if the mediation effect was significant, and it was determined that the results did not include zero and therefore the mediation result was significant. This result can be interpreted as secondary school students' school satisfaction increases their happiness levels at school, and their psychological well-being increases with the increase in their happiness at school. All these results reached in the research draw attention to how important school-based experiences are for the mental health of school-age children.

Investigation of the Relationship Between Fear of COVID-19 and Life Satisfaction in Gifted Students

“…In some studies on gifted students Kocak & Icmenoglu, 2012;Ogurlu, Birben, Opengin & Yalin, 2016) and on students with normal development Gun & Bayraktar, 2008;Ikiz & Kirtil Gormez, 2010; similar results were obtained. In some studies, female students Cam & Artar, 2014;; In some studies, it has been determined that male students have higher life satisfaction Yam & Kumcagiz, 2020;. Based on the results of the research, it can be said that life satisfaction reveals different results that are not stable according to gender.…”

“…Similarly, in some studies on students with normal development, it was determined that class level did not affect life satisfaction (Cam & Artar, 2014). In some studies, it was determined that there was a significant difference between the life satisfaction of the students according to their grade levels, and this difference was in favor of the students in the lower classes Yam & Kumcagiz, 2020). According to the results of the research, it was determined that there was a significant difference between the C-19 FS scores of the gifted students according to the class level, between the seventh and fifth classes, in favor of the 5th class students.…”