Student emotional well-being, school climate and classroom anxiety

Abstract

Mental health and well-being are the fundamental human rights and preconditions for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Dybdahl & Lien, 2017; World Health Organization, 2022). Since research shows an increasing incidence of mental health disorders among adolescents and a lack of studies related to mental health in low- and middle-income countries, this study focused on exploring student well-being in a small state with a relatively short tradition of studying mental health issues. The main objective of the current study was to explore the relationships of school-related factors (school climate and classroom anxiety) with emotional well-being to provide evidence that can contribute to the mitigation of mental health issues among Year 7 to Year 11 students in Malta. This cross-sectional study collected data about Year 7 to Year 11 students’ well-being, their perception of school climate and their experience of classroom anxiety by applying validated instruments with good metric characteristics. Due to the limited number of participants in addition to exploratory and multivariate analysis, this study also used additional non-parametric statistical techniques. The study found significant associations between student emotional well-being and classroom anxiety but the various dimensions of school climate were the strongest predictors of students’ self-reported mental well-being. Since the findings of this study indicate that school-related stress significantly contributes to the deterioration of students’ emotional well-being, the discussion focused on some measures that can improve students’ experience of schooling and improve their mental health.