Corona-related future anxiety and well-being among school-aged children: The relevance of social integration and the student-teacher relationship

Schwarzer, N.-H., Nicolay, P., Urton, K., Bolz, T., Gensler, A. F., Hank, C., Reinck, C., Schulden, M., Vrban, R., Huber, C., & Hillenbrand, C.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the mental health of school-aged children with corona-related future anxiety emerging as a prominent challenge. With this knowledge, it is crucial to identify protective factors that support children in their needs. It is to be assumed, although it is not yet empirically confirmed, that relationships with significant others in school can provide a buffer to the negative association between corona-related anxiety and well-being. Therefore, this cross-sectional study investigates the associations between corona-related future anxiety and well-being, taking into account social integration and the student-teacher relationship as potential mediators in a sample of 3,041 school-aged children (M = 10.25 years; SD = 1.87) from primary and special schools in Germany. Using structural equation modelling with cluster-robust standard errors, the study examines whether these associations are mediated by the quality of student-teacher relationships and students’ perceived social integration within their class. Results confirm that corona-related future anxiety is negatively associated with well-being. However, only social integration within the class was found to partially mitigate this relationship. These findings highlight the importance of fostering supportive group dynamics in school settings to enhance student resilience.