Adolescent Social Anxiety, School Satisfaction, Family Emotional Support, and School Absenteeism: Findings from Young-HUNT3 and Norwegian National Education Data

Halidu, Malik D.; Kotera, Yasuhiro

Abstract

Background: Adolescents grappling with social anxiety may experience poor school satisfaction, resorting to school-related avoidance behaviors, exemplified by absenteeism, as a coping mechanism. Understanding the role of family support in alleviating the adverse effects of social anxiety on school satisfaction is imperative for fostering supportive educational settings. Although there is literature regarding how school satisfaction promotes positive adolescent outcomes, empirical knowledge on the interrelation between social anxiety, school satisfaction, and family emotional support is limited. This study investigates the association between social anxiety, family emotional support, school satisfaction, and school absenteeism within the theoretical framework of the stage-environment fit theory to offer insight into how family emotional support can moderate the influence of social anxiety on school-related outcomes. Methods: Utilizing a population-based sample of 1861 upper secondary school pupils from the Trøndelag Young Health study “Young-HUNT3 study”, we employed an index of moderated mediation to examine the role of family emotional support in moderating the association between social anxiety and school-related avoidance behavior related to school satisfaction. Results: Family emotional support had moderated mediation association for school absenteeism (β = 0.128, 95% CI 0.019, 0.278) and extracurricular activity (β = −0.003, 95% CI −0.008, −0.000). Conclusions: This urges further investigation into the specific mechanisms and individual differences influencing these relationships, aiming to deepen our understanding of adolescents’ experiences and inform comprehensive strategies for promoting their well-being within school communities.

Citation

Halidu, M. D., & Kotera, Y. (2024). Adolescent Social Anxiety, School Satisfaction, Family Emotional Support, and School Absenteeism: Findings from Young-HUNT3 and Norwegian National Education Data. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 13(9), Article 2547. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13092547

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 23, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Apr 26, 2024
• Publication Date: May 1, 2024
• Deposit Date: Apr 27, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: May 1, 2024
• Journal: Journal of Clinical Medicine
• Electronic ISSN: 2077-0383
• Publisher: MDPI
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 9
• Article Number: 2547
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13092547
• Keywords: family emotional support; social anxiety; school satisfaction; school absenteeism; Norwegian adolescent
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/34111741
• Publisher URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/13/9/2547
• Additional Information: This article belongs to the Special Issue Personalized Medicine in Children and Adolescent Psychology