Longitudinal Negotiation, Navigation Processes, and School Success in High School: A Two-Wave Latent Transition Approach

Abstract

By combining person-centered analysis with latent transition analysis (LTA) and adapting a navigation and negotiation perspective, we examined the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents’ depression and anxiety levels as well as their adaptation and success in high school. Focusing on the navigation (individual adaptation) and negotiation (social adaptation) factors that contribute to school success, our data from a longitudinal study in Switzerland (wave 1 in autumn 2020, grade eight [n = 315]; wave 2 in spring 2021, grade eight [n = 257]) revealed four patterns: students with high levels in both dimensions (“thriving”), students with low levels in both dimensions (“demanding”), students with low negotiation but moderate to high navigation (“unsupported bloomers”), and students with high negotiation but low navigation (“encouraged non-achievers”). The “thriving” pattern had about three times more students than the “encouraged non-achiever” pattern did and about five times more students with a lower depression/anxiety profile than the “demanding” pattern did. Parental involvement and reading comprehension were identified as crucial factors in students’ academic achievement, with parental involvement being significantly associated with the “unsupported bloomers” pattern, suggesting that parents can compensate for the lack of teacher academic support and recognition and it can contribute to students’ academic success. Adolescents with high navigation and negotiation resources had higher reading comprehension scores compared to those with lower navigation and negotiation resources. Reading comprehension significantly influenced grades in language subjects and mathematics. The study emphasized the importance of individual and social adaptation factors in promoting academic success and personal growth in high school.

Resilience Development of Swiss Adolescents: A Convergent Mixed-Methods Approach

“…Two interviewed participants moved up into a higher class (blooming and struggling, respectively), and one stayed in the struggling class. Yet, a low-support environment, as Theron [14] and Kassis et al [5] identified, consistently links to poor academic success, indicating that they may remain stable in their respective categories. These findings suggest that while high support might not invariably lead to high academic success, lower support systems correlate with diminished educational outcomes [5].…”

“…Yet, a low-support environment, as Theron [14] and Kassis et al [5] identified, consistently links to poor academic success, indicating that they may remain stable in their respective categories. These findings suggest that while high support might not invariably lead to high academic success, lower support systems correlate with diminished educational outcomes [5]. Moreover, there is neither a class low/high nor a student with low supportive indicators and high academic success.…”

“…Adolescents perceived the exercise of self-help and the utilization of intrinsic resources as integral to self-efficacy. As Kassis et al [5] already showed, processing negative past events and support from others are actions related to enhanced self-efficacy, with courage playing a pivotal role. These results correspond to the statements of self-determination theory [11] as well as the concept of self-efficacy [10]: achieving autonomy and competence is based on relevant experiences of effectiveness, which are attributed to one's own person, as well as on subjective successes [19].…”

“…During the COVID-19 pandemic, having strong resilience patterns could help shield students' mental well-being from the damaging effects of stressors. Resilience is characterized by the systems' ability to recover quickly from stress, adjust effectively to changes, and gain valuable perspectives, often described as "bouncing back" from adversity, not only by the individual but also by social and societal resources [3][4][5]. Resilience evolves when people and systems are adaptive in daily action to changing and diverse situations, not just in response to crises or risks being overcome.…”

“…Adolescence in particular is considered a developmental phase associated with relevant changes in the physical, social, and psychological development dimensions. Studies by the World Health Organization [20] show that anxiety and depression, as mental disorders, are among the risks of this phase [4,5], especially in connection with the COVID pandemic [6,21,22], which can impair life satisfaction, cause further physical and mental disorders, increase suicidality, and generate performance problems [23].…”