Academic Functioning, Mental Health, and Peer Processes: Links to the Secondary School Educational Transition

Abstract

Most students in formal education experience school transitions, marked by changes in the environment, reconfiguration of peer groups, and increases in academic expectations and autonomy. The transition from elementary to secondary school is compounded by biological changes associated with adolescence, which force students to adapt to multiple changes simultaneously. The intersection of a significant life event and a developmental process is called a transition-linked turning point, which can impact immediate and long-term psychosocial functioning. To examine the role of the secondary school transition as a turning point in adolescent development, three studies were conducted examining the development and interactions among academic functioning, internalizing symptoms, and bullying victimization. Studies were conducted using data from the McMaster Teen Study, a population-based Canadian cohort followed annually through elementary school (Grades 5 to 8) and secondary school (Grades 9 to 12), and into early adulthood (N = 701; girls = 53%; M_ageT1 = 10.91, SD = 0.36). In Study 1, six distinct joint trajectories of academic achievement and school absences were documented. Most students demonstrated paths of continuity, with gradually increasing absences and stable grades, but others showed declines in grades paired with increasing absences. In Study 2, six co-occurring trajectories of anxiety and depression symptoms were found. Many students demonstrated stable symptoms, some worsened, but others improved. In Study 3, the longitudinal associations among absences, grades, internalizing symptoms, and bullying victimization were examined. Increased internalizing symptoms and increased bullying victimization scores were tightly coupled in all phases of schooling, with higher Grade 8 internalizing symptoms leading to higher abuse in Grade 9. In secondary school, high internalizing symptoms led to lower grades and, in turn, higher absences. Findings from these studies highlight heterogeneity in developmental pathways, with the transition to secondary school marking positive developmental changes for some and negative changes for others. Prevention and intervention programs can take advantage of this developmentally sensitive time to derail problematic pathways and implement integrated programs to support students' interpersonal, academic, and emotional functioning, particularly during this period.