Arantzazu Rodríguez-Fernández

Contextual and Psychological Variables in a Descriptive Model of Subjective Well-Being and School Engagement

Background/Objective: The objective of this ex post facto study is to analyze both the direct relationships between perceived social support, self-concept, resilience, subjective well-being and school engagement. Method: To achieve this, a battery of instruments was applied to 1,250 Compulsory Secondary Education students from the Basque Country (49% boys and 51% girls), aged between 12 and 15 years (M = 13.72, SD =1.09), randomly selected. We used a structural equation model to analyze the effects of perceived social support, self-concept and resilience on subjective well-being and school engagement. Results: The results provide evidence for the influence of the support of family, peer support and teacher support on self-concept. In addition, self-concept is shown as a mediating variable associated with resilience, subjective well-being and school engagement. Conclusions: We discuss the results in the context of positive psychology and their practical implications in the school context.

Risk of Eating Disorders and Physical Self-Concept in Adolescence

Recent years have witnessed an intensification in the study of factors associated with eating disorders (EDs), mainly due to increased social concern regarding these problems. For 30 years now, these types of problems have become increasingly frequent; so much so, in fact, that it can now be said (Schur et al., 2000) that more than half of all adolescents feel dissatisfied with their bodies. This has given rise to a multitude of studies on the epidemiological scope of these disorders, the personality traits which influence their development and sustained presence and the factors which may intervene in their prevention.

Implicación escolar y autoconcepto multidimensional en una muestra de estudiantes de secundaria

Nowadays the study of school engagement is a subject of great interest in the field of education for its decisive role in the positive development and academic success of students. This study had three main aims: firstly, to explore the possible differences of educational stage in the multidimensional self-concept and school engagement among students; secondly, to analyze the relationship of multidimensional self-concept and school engagement; and thirdly, to test multidimensional self-concept as predictor of school engagement. The sample comprised 1034 participants from 11 to 17 years old (M = 13.84; SD = 1.38), of whom 537(51.9%) were women and 497(48.1 %) men. The Multidimensional Self-Concept Questionnaire (AUDIM) of Fernandez-Zabala, Goni, Rodriguez-Fernandez & Goni (2015) and the School Engagement Measure (SEM) of Fredericks, Blumenfeld, Friedel & Paris (2005) were administered. The results confirmed that there was a lower level in scores of multidimensional self-concept (physical, general and academic) and school engagement in the second cycle of secondary education than in the first one. There were significant correlations between the majority of dimensions of self-concept and school engagement with medium-high effect size. Academic self-concept was identified as the most important predictor variable of school engagement.