ABSTRACT Peer bullying among school children is pervasive worldwide. It has costly consequences for the physical health, psychological functioning, social life, academic performance, and school adjustment of both the victims and perpetrators of bullying. There exists mounting evidence of the negative impact of bullying. However, the majority of those studies are from developed countries, particularly the Global North. Students’ experiences in countries of the Global South, such as Bangladesh, often go missing from the global literature. In this regard, the present study aims to understand how students’ bullying experiences affect their well-being at school through a qualitative exploration. This paper is based on data from a qualitative participatory study with 40 secondary school students (boys = 18; girls = 22) in Grades 7–10 (ages 13–16 years), recruited through snowball sampling from both urban and rural areas of Bangladesh. Semi-structured one-on-one and focus group interviews were conducted online with students to gain an in-depth understanding of the effects of peer bullying on their well-being at school. Grounded theory approaches were used to analyze the data. The study found three key interrelated effects of peer bullying on student well-being: Feeling scared, feeling sad, and feeling excluded. The findings have implications for school-based interventions to improve students’ well-being experiences and reduce bullying at schools in Bangladesh.

The Conditional Direct Effect of Self-Esteem in the Influence of Adolescent Depression on School Adjustment Through Sense of Community

The aim of the study was to explore the characteristics of social problem-solving, school burnout, and school life of sixth-grade (12-year-old, n = 181) and eighth-grade (14-year-old, n = 196) Hungarian students, as well as the relationship between these fields, exploring profiles based on connections between measured areas. Three questionnaires were used in the study: Social Problem-Solving Inventory–Revised; School Burnout Inventory and School Life Questionnaire. We identified similar profiles in both social problem-solving (e.g., rejective and optimistic-reflective) and school life (e.g., negative school experience with low support and positive school adjustment with high support) in both age groups. The association between students’ social problem-solving and school life profiles and their level of school burnout was tested using multinomial logistic regression analyses. A structural equation model was specified to assess the interrelations among school life experiences, social problem-solving processes, and school burnout. Among sixth graders, a more positive school environment was associated with higher levels of adaptive social problem-solving and lower levels of maladaptive social problem-solving. In contrast, none of the predictors in the model showed a significant correlation with school burnout. In the case of eighth graders, school life factors only showed a significant positive correlation with adaptive social problem-solving. The findings refine existing assumptions by showing that while students’ social problem-solving tendencies and school experiences are interrelated, their contribution to burnout differs in early adolescent stages.

ABSTRACT This study employed a qualitative case study design to examine how teacher and peer relationships shape the school adaptation of three-year-old children in a multicultural classroom. The study group included 17 children (11 girls, six boys), eight parents, and one teacher. The classroom’s multicultural nature stemmed not only from diverse family backgrounds (eight mothers were Russian) but also from cultural differences among children and the teacher. Data were collected through observations and interviews. Observations focused on teacher-child, peer, and teacher-parent interactions during adaptation. The primary researcher (PR) interviewed the teacher and parents to explore how cultural elements affected adaptation. Data were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Results show that effective classroom management significantly influences children’s adaptation and shapes teacher-child relationship quality. Classroom interactions reflected cultural dynamics, showing that children from varied backgrounds and those with similar traits tended to build supportive connections during adaptation.

Early childhood digital environments play a critical role in shaping children’s learning, sleep, and wellbeing, all of which underpin school readiness and adjustment to formal schooling. This study identified patterns of home device availability and bedroom access among young Australian children and examined sociodemographic associations. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with 275 Australian parents of 1-to-5-year-olds. Participants reported sociodemographic characteristics, home device availability, and bedroom access. Devices were categorised as handheld (e.g., smartphones, tablets) or fixed (e.g., televisions, computers). Latent class analysis examined patterns of home device availability and bedroom access. All children had devices in the home, while 21% had access to one or more devices in their bedroom. Four classes were identified: (1) moderate availability, low bedroom access (55.3%); (2) high availability, high bedroom access (5.1%); (3) high availability, no bedroom access (16.0%); and (4) low availability, low bedroom access (23.6%). Significant demographic differences were observed by employment status and household structure. High prevalence of home device availability in early childhood underscores the need for supportive environments promoting balanced technology use as children transition to school. Highlighting considerations for school staff in addressing screen-related challenges may support children’s healthy development and school readiness.

Abstract Background With increasing societal pressures and the growing prevalence of mental health issues, the identification and management of students with mental disorders in higher education institutions have become pressing concerns in public health and educational administration. Previous research has predominantly focused on mental health education for the general student population, with insufficient exploration of specialized, systematic psychological counseling and intervention mechanisms for students with diagnosed mental disorders within campus management systems. Therefore, this study analyzes the mechanisms and intervention pathways for psychological counseling of students with mental disorders within the campus management system. It proposes an integrated framework encompassing prevention, identification, counseling, referral, and follow-up to enhance the effectiveness of psychological crisis intervention and student support services in higher education institutions. Methods Employing a mixed-methods approach, the study first conducted content analysis of administrative documents and mental health records from three universities to identify existing management processes and gaps. Subsequently, qualitative data were collected through interviews and focus group discussions with 100 key stakeholders, including students, counselors, mental health professionals, and campus physicians. The core component is a 6-month quasi-experimental study that divided 60 diagnosed students into a control group and an experimental group. The experimental group received the “Team Collaboration Intervention Pathway,” which integrated case conferences, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) groups, and peer support. The control group received routine school student support services, primarily consisting of regular counselor appointments, mental health education lectures, and basic psychological support and school nurse referrals when students sought help proactively or during crises. The study employed the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), and College Student School Adjustment Questionnaire as primary assessment tools. Three measurements were taken for both groups—pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at the 3-month follow-up—to compare dynamic changes in psychological symptoms and campus adaptation levels. Results Content analysis revealed that only 40% of university documents mentioned specific management procedures for students with mental disorders, with fragmented collaboration across departments. Thematic analysis of interview data identified four core issues: conflicts between confidentiality and information sharing (mentioned by 85%), insufficient professional intervention resources (78%), ambiguous roles and high stress among counselors (90%), and lack of social support networks (82%). Experimental findings showed that the experimental group (n = 30) receiving the “team-based collaborative intervention pathway” exhibited a significant decrease in mean SAS scores from 68.5 ± 7.2 to 52.3 ± 6.8 (p<.01) after 6 months. While their SDS mean score decreased from 65.8 ± 6.9 to 50.1 ± 7.5 (p<.01). Moreover, the improvement in campus adaptation scale scores was significantly higher than that of the control group (mean increase of 15.6 points vs. 5.2 points, p<.05). Discussion This study confirms systemic deficiencies in current university support systems for students with mental disorders. The developed “team-based intervention pathway,” emphasizing multidisciplinary collaboration and specialized interventions, significantly improved patients' psychological symptoms and campus adaptation while reducing relapse risk. This research provides universities with an actionable blueprint for psychological support mechanisms and concrete intervention pathways, underscoring the necessity of integrating administrative management with professional services. Future research should expand sample sizes to conduct multicenter randomized controlled trials, explore differentiated intervention strategies for distinct disorder types, and investigate the potential application of digital technologies in long-term follow-up support.

Seeking social approval and recognition is a major driving force for adolescents to engage in social interactions. Mianzi ("" in Chinese) is an indigenous concept related to the social perception of one's prestige or admiration. The goal of this 2-year longitudinal study was to examine the moderating role of social preference in the relations between self-reported concern for mianzi and adjustment in Chinese adolescents. Participants in this study included junior high school students (N = 938; 461 boys) initially in seventh grade (Mage = 12.41 years) in urban and rural areas of China. Students completed a self-report measure of concern for mianzi, peer assessments of social preference, prosociality, and aggression. Head teachers in each classroom rated each student in the class on their behavioral problems and learning problems. Adolescents' concern for mianzi was found to negatively predict later aggression, behavioral problems, and learning problems for students who had high initial social preference. Concern for mianzi also positively predicted later aggression for students, particularly boys, who had low initial social preference. The results suggested that concern for mianzi might be a sensitivity factor in adolescents' social-behavioral and school adjustment and highlighted the role of context in shaping the relations.

Influence of Guidance Services On Students? Adjustment in Secondary Schools in Benue State

Concern for mianzi, or the social perception of one's prestige and standing in the group, is an important socioemotional experience in Chinese adolescents. This 2-year longitudinal study examined relations between concern for mianzi and adjustment in junior high school students (N = 498; 266 boys), initially in seventh grade (Mage = 13 years), in rural China. Data were obtained from multiple sources including peer assessments, teacher ratings, and school records. The results showed that concern for mianzi positively predicted later sociability and academic achievement and negatively predicted later internalizing problems. Concern for mianzi also positively predicted later aggression and externalizing problems in boys. Aggression positively predicted concern for mianzi, and sociability positively predicted concern for mianzi in girls. The results indicate the developmental significance and the nature of concern for mianzi in rural Chinese context. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring rural students’ school adjustment, personability and psychological adjustment: A meta-analysis

Pedagogical Adaptation of First-Grade Pupils in the Early School Years: Theoretical Foundations, Psychological Readiness, and Determinants of Successful School Adjustment

This one‐year longitudinal study examined how the academic achievement of peer group leaders and nonleader members was associated with individual social, school, and psychological adjustment in Chinese adolescents. Participants included 2450 middle‐school students (1233 boys; initial Mage = 13.96 years) in China. Data were collected from multiple sources, including self‐reports, peer nominations, teacher ratings, and school records. Peer groups and their leaders were identified using the WalkTrap community detection algorithm, resulting in 256 peer group leaders across 238 peer groups. Multilevel modeling revealed that academic achievement of group leaders and nonleader members both positively predicted individual academic achievement and social competence. Whereas group leaders' academic achievement negatively predicted adolescents' aggression and externalizing problems, nonleader members' academic achievement negatively predicted adolescents' peer victimization and internalizing symptoms. The results indicate similar as well as distinct patterns of longitudinal associations of leaders' and nonleader members' academic achievement with individual adjustment in adolescent peer groups. The results suggest that it may be an effective strategy to use peer group‐based education and intervention programs involving group leaders and group members to help adolescents develop social and academic competence and reduce externalizing and internalizing problems.

Bicultural acceptance attitude and school adjustment in multicultural adolescents in South Korea: A latent growth model approach

Difficulties adjustment to school in childhood are one of the risk factors for developing mental health problems. When school adjustment problems arise, they tend to persist over time; therefore, early identification and intervention can help prevent these problems from worsening. In this vein, preventive strategies have been proposed based on developing socio-emotional skills that improve school adjustment. In Chile, school adjustment problems are addressed through preventive workshops based on social-emotional learning, which conforms to Life Skills Program 1. This research aimed to analyze the effectiveness of preventive workshops belonging to Life Skills Program 1 to improve adjustment to the classroom among Chilean primary school students. The design of this research was a retrospective quasi-experimental type, with pre -and post-test measurements. The experimental condition consisted of 185 children in the 1st grade of primary school who were classified in the at-risk group in the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised. These children received preventive workshops of the Life Skills Program 1. Secondary data were used for data analysis. In an initial sample of 1.482 students, 185 were classified as at risk using the TOCA-RR instrument and received the intervention. After the intervention ended, 123 students were no longer at risk, while 62 remained at risk. Results evidenced that workshops were successful in 66.5% of the cases. The preventive workshops are effective in reducing school adjustment problems in at-risk children, which, if not treated in time, could trigger mental health problems in childhood that could extend into adulthood.

Researchers have been interested in exploring the distinguishing features of Chinese parenting and its role in child development, yet research in this area has been hindered by the limited availability of appropriate measures. Based on a perspective focusing on care-based power-assertive parenting (CBPAP) that explicitly emphasizes two integrated aspects of Chinese parenting, care and power assertion, parent- and child-report measures of CBPAP were developed and examined in the present study in samples with a rural background in China. Mothers of kindergarten children (N = 1,214; Mage = 54 months, 515 boys) completed the parent-report measure of CBPAP, and students in fourth grade in elementary schools (N = 714; Mage = 10 years, 385 boys) completed the child-report measure for maternal CBPAP and paternal CBPAP. Data on children's adjustment were collected from multiple sources. The results indicated a satisfactory fit of a one-factor model and internal consistency in the measures. Measurement invariance tests indicated the equivalence of the factor structure of the measures across gender and grades. Moreover, the CBPAP measures were positively associated with children's social and academic competence and negatively associated with children's behavioral problems. The study provided evidence for the psychometric properties of the measures and their meaningful relations with children's social, behavioral, and school adjustment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the relationship between solution-focused thinking and school adjustment among high school students, and to identify the psychological pathway through which solution-focused thinking influences school adjustment by verifying the mediating effect of resilience in this process. Methods: : A survey was administered to 137 high school students. Data were analyzed using the SPSS PROCESS macro (Model 4) with 10,000 bootstrap samples. Results: Significant strong positive correlations were found among solution-focused thinking and resilience, resilience and school adjustment, and solution-focused thinking and school adjustment. Furthermore, it was confirmed that solution-focused thinking has a direct effect on school adjustment, and that resilience also has a mediating effect. Conclusions: Based on these findings, this study provides theoretical implications by empirically clarifying the psychological pathway between solution-focused thinking and school adjustment, and suggests the application of solution-focused therapy that incorporates resilience in school and youth shelter.

Objective: This study investigates the effects of parental attachment and community sense on school adjustment among adolescents, with self-esteem as a mediator. Methods: Data from Waves 13-15 of the Korean Children Panel Study (2020-2022; ages 11-13) were analyzed using SPSS 29.0 for correlation analysis and AMOS 29.0 for structural equation modeling with bootstrapping to test the mediating effects. Results: Parental attachment and community sense had positive direct effects on school-age children’s self-esteem and school adjustment, with self-esteem partially mediating both these relationships. Conclusions: Parental attachment, community sense, and self-esteem significantly influence school-age children’s school adjustment, with parental attachment most strongly linked to higher self-esteem. These findings highlight the need to strengthen parent–child bonds and communal awareness to improve school adjustment among school-age children and offer tailored interventions to promote supportive family dynamics and community engagement.

Introduction: Nutrition quality has been consistently linked to academic outcomes. Studies across different cultural contexts suggest that adolescents with balanced diets tend to show better well-being and school adjustment. Objective: This study aimed to examine the associations between adolescents’ regular eating habits and their academic performance in the Beni Mellal-Khénifra region of Morocco. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 439 students aged 14 to 20 years. Eating habits were assessed using the Arab Teens Lifestyle Study (ATLS) questionnaire, and academic performance was measured via overall grade point average. Statistical analyses using SPSS explored correlations between dietary patterns and school achievement. Results: The participants’ average age was 15.02 years (43.7% male, 56.3% female). Descriptive analysis showed that fries, fast foods, and sweet drinks were frequently consumed, while fruits, vegetables, and breakfast at home were less common. Spearman’s correlation revealed a positive association between healthy eating (Factor 2) and academic performance (ρ = 0.166, 95% CI [0.08, 0.25], p < 0.001), indicating a small but meaningful effect. Unhealthy food consumption (Factor 1) was not significantly related to GPA. Regression analysis confirmed that higher healthy eating scores predicted better academic performance (B = 0.472, 95% CI [0.214, 0.729], p < 0.001), while unhealthy eating did not show a significant effect, even after controlling for gender, age, education level, and area of residence. Discussion: These findings align with previous research showing links between diet quality and school performance. The small effect size suggests that healthier eating is associated with modest differences in academic outcomes, highlighting that school performance is influenced by multiple factors, including psychosocial and environmental aspects. Conclusions: The study identified significant associations between eating habits and academic performance among adolescents in the Beni Mellal-Khénifra region. Considering dietary patterns in adolescent development research appears valuable. Further longitudinal or experimental studies are recommended to clarify these relationships.

Student indiscipline remains a persistent challenge in many public secondary schools in Tharaka-Nithi County, undermining academic progress, disrupting learning environments, and increasing the financial burden associated with repairing damaged school property. While multiple factors contribute to student behaviour, teacher support has increasingly been recognized as a critical determinant of learners’ discipline and overall school adjustment. This study examined the effect of teacher support on students’ discipline in public secondary schools in Tharaka-Nithi County. Guided by Invitational Theory, which emphasizes the role of supportive interpersonal relationships in shaping positive student outcomes, the study adopted a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. The target population comprised students, teachers, and principals from public secondary schools in the county, from which a sample was selected using stratified, systematic, and purposive sampling techniques. Data were collected using questionnaires for students and teachers and interview schedules for principals. The reliability coefficients for student and teacher questionnaires were 0.831 and 0.731, respectively, indicating high internal consistency. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and simple linear regression, while qualitative data were analyzed thematically. The findings revealed that teacher support had a statistically significant effect on students’ discipline, indicating that learners who perceive their teachers as caring, approachable, fair, and academically supportive are more likely to exhibit positive behaviour and comply with school rules. The study concludes that strengthened teacher–student relationships play a vital role in fostering disciplined learning environments. It recommends that schools invest in teacher mentorship programmes, continuous professional development on positive discipline strategies, and policies that promote supportive and empathetic teacher–student interactions to enhance discipline in public secondary schools.

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the effects of an 8-day art therapy program for adolescents with Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). Twenty-four adolescents (aged 9–14 years) participated in a structured residential camp featuring creative visual arts, collaborative projects, and expressive therapeutic activities. Assessments conducted at baseline, post-intervention, and one-month follow-up showed significant improvements in IGD symptoms, particularly Withdrawal (ηp2 = .497) and Reality Perception Disturbance (ηp2 = .540). Parent-reported behavioral measures revealed significant reductions in anxious/depressed symptoms (d = 0.83), aggressive behavior (d = 1.01), and total problems (d = 1.57). While improvements in self-regulatory efficacy were observed post-intervention, changes in self-esteem and school adjustment were nonsignificant. Findings suggest that immersive creative experiences can address IGD symptoms and associated behavioral problems by providing alternative achievement structures, enhancing emotional expression, and fostering social skills development. Art therapy approaches may effectively complement existing treatment strategies for adolescent IGD.