COVID-19 Fatigue and Middle School Students’ Engagement and School Aversion: The Mediational Roles of Emotion Regulation and Perceptions of School Climate

Abstract

Learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has included disruption, uncertainty, and additional stress for students. Adverse learning outcomes are a growing concern, especially for vulnerable groups such as middle school students. While COVID-19 research is currently emerging, more research needs to address the specific experiences of middle school students. The current study examined the meditating role of coping (emotion regulation strategies) and perceptions of school climate on the relationship between COVID-19 fatigue and student outcomes (student engagement and school aversion) in a sample of middle school students (N = 301). Findings from parallel mediation path models indicated that COVID-19 fatigue was inversely related to student engagement and positively related to school aversion. School climate provided a moderate to strong mediation, and emotion regulation provided small partial mediation compared to school climate. The findings suggest that utilizing adaptive emotion regulation strategies can help promote student engagement and dampen school aversion in relation to COVID-19 fatigue. Additionally, positive perceptions of school climate can encourage school engagement and reduce school aversion. A deeper explanation of the importance of regulation and the way middle schoolers perceive school rules and support in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic is discussed.