The Power of Everyday Peer Relatedness in Predicting Subjective Well-Being After School Transition

Abstract. The transition from primary to secondary school represents a challenging life event. This study examined 108 children (age M = 10.11 years, SD = 0.44) in Germany during the first 12 weeks at a new school. Daily satisfaction and frustration of the basic need for relatedness were examined as predictors of subjective well-being versus ill-being and adjustment versus psychopathology. Subjective well-being or ill-being was assessed at weeks 3 – 4 and week 11 of the school year. In between, there was a 4-week period of daily assessments of perceived relatedness satisfaction and frustration. Teachers indicated each child’s psychological adjustment or psychopathology (e. g., emotional symptoms) in weeks 11 – 12. Daily relatedness satisfaction was associated with increases in positive affect from weeks 3 – 4 to week 11, while daily relatedness frustration was linked to an increase in negative affect and school anxiety. Furthermore, daily relatedness satisfaction was negatively linked to teacher-reported emotional symptoms and peer problems at weeks 11 – 12, and daily relatedness frustration was positively associated with teacher-reported conduct problems and hyperactivity-inattention.