Interrelationships between Coping, School Connectedness and Wellbeing Erica Frydenberg

Abstract

This study examined the interrelationships between coping styles, emotional wellbeing, and school connectedness using path analysis. A total of 536 Year 8 students (241 boys and 295 girls) responded to an in-class survey and the Adolescent Coping Scale (Frydenberg & Lewis, 1993a) as part of a larger study. Productive coping style was positively related both to student-reported sense of wellbeing and, to a lesser extent, to school connectedness. A non-productive coping style was found to be inversely related to students' sense of wellbeing and connection to school. Students' sense of emotional wellbeing was found to be positively related to school connectedness. The negative relationships between non-productive coping with emotional wellbeing and, to a lesser extent, with school connectedness highlight the importance of taking into account the influence of risk factors as well as positive factors when focusing on enhancement of wellbeing and connectedness in secondary school students.