Family, peers and school are the three main contexts associated with school engagement. This study aims to analyze possible gender and age differences in these contextual variables and school engagement, as well as the relationship between the two. Participants were 1543 secondary school children aged between 12 and 18 years (M=14.24; SD=1.63). Of the total sample group, 728 (47.2%) were boys and 815 (52.8%) were girls. All completed the Family and Peer Support (FPS) scale, the Teachers’ Support scale of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) questionnaire, and the School Engagement Measure (SEM). The results reveal significant differences between boys and girls, with girls scoring higher in perceived peer support and behavioral and emotional engagement. Younger respondents were also observed to score significantly higher for perceived support from parents and teachers, as well as for school engagement. Significant correlation indexes were observed between contextual variables, as well as between these variables and school engagement, although it was for support from teachers that the strongest correlation was found

Background/Objective: The objective of this ex post facto study is to analyze both the direct relationships between perceived social support, self-concept, resilience, subjective well-being and school engagement. Method: To achieve this, a battery of instruments was applied to 1,250 Compulsory Secondary Education students from the Basque Country (49% boys and 51% girls), aged between 12 and 15 years (M = 13.72, SD =1.09), randomly selected. We used a structural equation model to analyze the effects of perceived social support, self-concept and resilience on subjective well-being and school engagement. Results: The results provide evidence for the influence of the support of family, peer support and teacher support on self-concept. In addition, self-concept is shown as a mediating variable associated with resilience, subjective well-being and school engagement. Conclusions: We discuss the results in the context of positive psychology and their practical implications in the school context.

Although there is a growing interest in identifying the variables that enhance student school adjustment, there is a lack of understanding of the mechanisms involved in it during adolescence. Despite there being works that confirm the positive relationship between school climate and academic performance, it is still unresolved which of the more specific aspects of climate are linked to this performance, as well as the degree to which an individual variable such as resilience can play a mediating role between both; these unknown factors constitute the objective of this study. A total of 731 students (mean age, M_age = 15.20 years; Standard Deviation, SD = 1.62) from the Basque Country participated; they completed the PACE-33 -school climate scale-, the CD-RISC10 -resilience scale- and the EBAE-10 -perceived academic performance subscale-. The full mediation model and the partial mediation model were tested. The results show that the model of choice is that of partial mediation: the resilience mediates the relationship between two specific aspects of the school climate (peer relationship and teachers’ ability to motivate) and perceived academic performance, and a third specific aspect (teachers’ expectations) has a direct relationship with perceived academic performance. These findings highlight the importance of attending to variables specific to the context in which the subject interacts, with the role of the teacher being especially important, in addition to promoting the development of resilience, due to the weight it has on the perception that students have about their school performance.

The main aim of this study was to explore the relationships between personal self-concept and satisfaction with life, with the latter as the key indicator for personal adjustment. The study tests a structural model which encompasses four dimensions of self-concept: self-fulfillment, autonomy, honesty and emotions. The 801 participants in the study, all of whom were aged between 15 and 65 (M = 34.03, SD = 17.29), completed the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and the Personal Self-Concept (APE) Questionnaire. Although the four dimensions of personal self-concept differ in their weight, the results show that, taken together, they explain 46% of the differences observed in satisfaction with life. This implies a weight that is as significant as that observed for general self-esteem in previous research studies. This issue should be dealt with early on, during secondary education, in order to help prevent psychological distress or maladjustment.

The aim of this study is two-fold: (a) to determine the general degree of family affect/communication and strictness by examining the combination of the two classical dimensions of mother parenting style: affect/communication and strictness, and (b) to analyze the impact of both parents’ affect and strictness on the family style, thereby exploring the specific contribution made by each parent’s style and dimension. Participants were 1190 Spanish students, 47.1% boys and 52.3% girls (M = 14.68; SD = 1.76). The Affect Scale (EA-H) and the Rules and Demandingness Scale (ENE-H) (both by Fuentes, Motrico, and Bersabé, 1999) were used. Structural equation models (SEMs) were extracted using the EQS program. The results reveal that it is not the father’s and the mother’s parenting style combined, but rather the combination of maternal and paternal affect/communication, and maternal and paternal strictness which generates one perception of family affect and another of family strictness. The results also indicated that the weight of both dimensions varies in accordance with the parent’s gender, with maternal dimensions playing a more important role in family socialization style.

El ajuste escolar es un factor prioritario a considerar para comprender y dar una respuesta psicoeducativa a los crecientes problemas de fracaso escolar, absentismo y convivencia en las aulas. Por su parte, el autoconcepto juega un papel decisivo en el ajuste del alumnado. Los objetivos de este estudio son analizar la relación entre las dimensiones académica y global del autoconcepto y las escalas del ajuste escolar; examinar las diferencias en el ajuste escolar, así como en el autoconcepto académico y global, según el sexo y la edad del alumnado; y comprobar la capacidad explicativa del dominio académico y global del autoconcepto sobre el ajuste escolar. En el estudio participan 1468 estudiantes entre 12 y 17 años (M= 14.03; D.T.= 1.36), 51% mujeres y 49% hombres. Se emplean la Escala Breve de Ajuste Escolar –EBAE– y el Cuestionario de Autoconcepto Dimensional –AUDIM–. El autoconcepto mantiene relaciones significativas con el ajuste escolar. Por otra parte, las mujeres informan de un mayor ajuste escolar y autoconcepto académico verbal, mientras que los hombres perciben un mayor autoconcepto académico matemático y global. Además, el autoconcepto y el ajuste escolar son mayores en la adolescencia temprana que en la adolescencia media. Por último, el autoconcepto académico y global tienen una capacidad predictiva grande-moderada sobre las dimensiones del ajuste escolar, siendo destacable la influencia del autoconcepto académico sobre el rendimiento escolar. School Adjustment is considered to be an outstanding factor in order to understand and give a pshycoeducational response to the growing problems of academic failure, truancy and cohabitation in the classroom. Self-concept has likewise an essential role in students’adjustment. The aims of this study are to analyse the relationship among Academic and Global dimensions of Self-concept and School Adjustment’s scales; to examine the differences in School Adjustment, as well as in Academic and Global Self-concept, according to the students’gender and age; and to check predictive ability of Academic and Global Self-concept on School Adjustment. 1468 students participated in this studybetween 11 and 17 years of age (M=14.03; SD= 1.36), 51% women and 49% men. The Brief Scale of School Adjustment (EBAE) and the Multidimensional Self-Concept Questionnaire (AUDIM) were implemented. The School Adjustment keeps significant relationships with the Self-concept. Furthermore, women have been considered to have a larger School Adjustment and Academic Self-concept in oral skills, while men perceive better the Mathematic and Global Self-concept. Besides, the Self-concept and the School Adjustment are larger in the early adolescence than in the middle adolescence. Finally, the Academic and Global Self-concept have a high and moderate predictive ability about the School Adjustment’s dimensions, and the Academic Self-concept a remarkable influence regarding the academic achievement.