Unpacking the relationship between adolescents’ perceived school climate and negative emotions: the chain mediating roles of school belonging and social avoidance and distress
Abstract Objective Guided by Self-System Processes Theory, Social Support Theory, and Stress and Coping Theory, this study investigates how perceived school climate influences adolescents’ negative emotions through the chain mediation of school belonging and social avoidance and distress. It also ex...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | BMC Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02364-1 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832585301499838464 |
|---|---|
| author | Weisong Chen Zhen Huang Bo Peng Hang Hu |
| author_facet | Weisong Chen Zhen Huang Bo Peng Hang Hu |
| author_sort | Weisong Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Objective Guided by Self-System Processes Theory, Social Support Theory, and Stress and Coping Theory, this study investigates how perceived school climate influences adolescents’ negative emotions through the chain mediation of school belonging and social avoidance and distress. It also examines demographic differences across gender and grade and tests the structural invariance of the proposed model. Method A cross-sectional survey of 1,507 Chinese adolescents in grades 5–9 was conducted using validated scales. Independent samples t-tests and one-way ANOVA were used to examine gender and grade differences in the key variables. Structural equation modeling (SEM) tested the hypothesized mediation model, while multigroup SEM assessed structural invariance across subgroups. Results Perceived school climate reduced negative emotions both directly and indirectly, with school belonging and social avoidance and distress as key mediators. Peer support demonstrated the strongest indirect effect, while teacher support and autonomy opportunities influenced negative emotions through both direct and indirect pathways. A chain mediation pathway was identified, and structural invariance testing confirmed consistent relationships across gender and grade groups. Conclusion This study reveals a complex chain mediation mechanism and highlights the stability of structural relationships across demographic groups. The findings provide valuable theoretical and practical insights for fostering supportive school environments to promote adolescent emotional well-being. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-95a29187546043968a6dd3acaf5f2b2d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2050-7283 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-95a29187546043968a6dd3acaf5f2b2d2025-01-26T12:58:20ZengBMCBMC Psychology2050-72832025-01-0113112010.1186/s40359-025-02364-1Unpacking the relationship between adolescents’ perceived school climate and negative emotions: the chain mediating roles of school belonging and social avoidance and distressWeisong Chen0Zhen Huang1Bo Peng2Hang Hu3School of sports training, Chengdu Sport UniversitySchool of physical education, Liaoning Normal UniversitySchool of sports training, Chengdu Sport UniversityOffice of academic affairs, Chengdu Sport UniversityAbstract Objective Guided by Self-System Processes Theory, Social Support Theory, and Stress and Coping Theory, this study investigates how perceived school climate influences adolescents’ negative emotions through the chain mediation of school belonging and social avoidance and distress. It also examines demographic differences across gender and grade and tests the structural invariance of the proposed model. Method A cross-sectional survey of 1,507 Chinese adolescents in grades 5–9 was conducted using validated scales. Independent samples t-tests and one-way ANOVA were used to examine gender and grade differences in the key variables. Structural equation modeling (SEM) tested the hypothesized mediation model, while multigroup SEM assessed structural invariance across subgroups. Results Perceived school climate reduced negative emotions both directly and indirectly, with school belonging and social avoidance and distress as key mediators. Peer support demonstrated the strongest indirect effect, while teacher support and autonomy opportunities influenced negative emotions through both direct and indirect pathways. A chain mediation pathway was identified, and structural invariance testing confirmed consistent relationships across gender and grade groups. Conclusion This study reveals a complex chain mediation mechanism and highlights the stability of structural relationships across demographic groups. The findings provide valuable theoretical and practical insights for fostering supportive school environments to promote adolescent emotional well-being.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02364-1Perceived school climateNegative emotionsSchool belongingSocial avoidance and distressAdolescentsGender differences |
| spellingShingle | Weisong Chen Zhen Huang Bo Peng Hang Hu Unpacking the relationship between adolescents’ perceived school climate and negative emotions: the chain mediating roles of school belonging and social avoidance and distress BMC Psychology Perceived school climate Negative emotions School belonging Social avoidance and distress Adolescents Gender differences |
| title | Unpacking the relationship between adolescents’ perceived school climate and negative emotions: the chain mediating roles of school belonging and social avoidance and distress |
| title_full | Unpacking the relationship between adolescents’ perceived school climate and negative emotions: the chain mediating roles of school belonging and social avoidance and distress |
| title_fullStr | Unpacking the relationship between adolescents’ perceived school climate and negative emotions: the chain mediating roles of school belonging and social avoidance and distress |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unpacking the relationship between adolescents’ perceived school climate and negative emotions: the chain mediating roles of school belonging and social avoidance and distress |
| title_short | Unpacking the relationship between adolescents’ perceived school climate and negative emotions: the chain mediating roles of school belonging and social avoidance and distress |
| title_sort | unpacking the relationship between adolescents perceived school climate and negative emotions the chain mediating roles of school belonging and social avoidance and distress |
| topic | Perceived school climate Negative emotions School belonging Social avoidance and distress Adolescents Gender differences |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02364-1 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT weisongchen unpackingtherelationshipbetweenadolescentsperceivedschoolclimateandnegativeemotionsthechainmediatingrolesofschoolbelongingandsocialavoidanceanddistress AT zhenhuang unpackingtherelationshipbetweenadolescentsperceivedschoolclimateandnegativeemotionsthechainmediatingrolesofschoolbelongingandsocialavoidanceanddistress AT bopeng unpackingtherelationshipbetweenadolescentsperceivedschoolclimateandnegativeemotionsthechainmediatingrolesofschoolbelongingandsocialavoidanceanddistress AT hanghu unpackingtherelationshipbetweenadolescentsperceivedschoolclimateandnegativeemotionsthechainmediatingrolesofschoolbelongingandsocialavoidanceanddistress |