Social support as a predictor of school bonding and academic motivation following the transition to Italian middle school

Abstract

After five years in elementary schools with small classes and stimulation of basic thinking skills, Italian children move to very traditional scuola media. Data obtained from 434 Italian pupils revealed that school bonding and academic motivation declined sharply after this transition. Social support by parents, but not friends, was a predictor of school bonding and academic motivation. There was little consistent evidence of compensatory processes: Support by a friend did not generally compensate for negative relationships with parents. However, there were some indications that a positive relationship with one parent might compensate for negative interactions with the other parent. Our findings suggest that parental social support has a unique function in bolstering school bonding and academic motivation after the transition to scuola media.