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A Theoretically Grounded Exploration of the Social and Emotional Outcomes of Transition to Secondary School

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 December 2012

Stacey K. Waters ,
Leanne Lester ,
Elizabeth Wenden  and
Donna Cross
Stacey K. Waters*
Affiliation:
Child Health Promotion Research Centre, Edith Cowan University, Australia
Leanne Lester
Affiliation:
Child Health Promotion Research Centre, Edith Cowan University, Australia
Elizabeth Wenden
Affiliation:
Child Health Promotion Research Centre, Edith Cowan University, Australia
Donna Cross
Affiliation:
Child Health Promotion Research Centre, Edith Cowan University, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Stacey Waters, Associate Professor and Head, Child Health Promotion Research Centre, Edith Cowan University, 2 Bradford Street, Mount Lawley WA 6050, Australia. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Adolescent development involves a complex interplay between genetics, biology, and social and emotional relationships within multiple contexts of home, school and the broader community. The transition from primary to secondary school, coupled with the onset of puberty, can therefore be a difficult period for young people to negotiate at a critical period of their developmental pathway. Using a social ecological perspective, this article examines the impact of the transition experience on adolescent social and emotional health, both immediately following transition to secondary school and at the end of the first year in this new school environment. This 1-year prospective study involving 1,500 Australian Grade 8 secondary school students found that 31% of students in the sample experienced a ‘difficult’ or ‘somewhat difficult’ transition to their new school. This third of the student sample were consequently more likely to experience poorer social and emotional health, including higher levels of depression and anxiety at the end of their first year of secondary school, while controlling for these variables at the time of transition. A central message from this work exemplifies the urgent need for a longitudinal intervention trial to develop best practice guidelines for activities that help ameliorate the negative impact a change in education context can create for adolescents negotiating a rapid metamorphosis from childhood to adulthood.

Keywords

transitionmental healthadolescencesecondary schoolsocial healthemotional health
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools , Volume 22 , Special Issue 2: The promotion of mental health and wellbeing in children and adolescents , December 2012 , pp. 190 - 205
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2012

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