Age and Gender Differences in the Relation Between School-Related Social Support and Subjective Well-Being in School Among Students

Abstract

The current study was an investigation of age and gender differences in the relation between students’ school-related social support (i.e., teacher support and classmate support) and subjective well-being (SWB) in school (i.e., school satisfaction and affect in school), as well as the developmental differences in SWB in school. Data were collected from a sample of 2,158 students in Grades 4 through 11 in China on two separate occasions, 6-weeks apart. The findings indicated older age students reported lower levels of SWB in school than younger students. Furthermore, girls reported higher levels of school satisfaction than boys. In addition, both teacher support and classmate support significantly related to school satisfaction at Time 2 (controlling for Time 1) for all students. Classmate support significantly related to affect in school at Time 2 for all students, whereas teacher support only significantly related to affect in school at Time 2 for elementary school students. Specifically, teacher support accounted for the larger amount of variance in school satisfaction at Time 2 for elementary and high school students. Gender moderated the relation between teacher support and school satisfaction at Time 2 for elementary school students, as well as the relation between classmate support and school satisfaction at Time 2 for middle school students. Implications based on developmental considerations were discussed.