School Well-Being Profiles Among Elementary School Students – Stability and Relations to Academic Performance

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine elementary school students' school well-being profiles, the stability of the profiles during one school year, and how profile membership and stability relate to mathematics performance and gender. Data came from a longitudinal research project, following students (54% girls) in elementary school (Ngrade 4 = 301, Ngrade 5 = 281, and Ngrade 6 = 288) across one school year (2022–2023). LPA revealed that a three-profile solution was best fitting for this sample and was named as follows: the Positive well-being group (49%), the Average well-being group (39%), and the Negative well-being group (12%). Profiles were relatively stable over the course of one school year, as remaining in the same group yielded the highest transition probabilities (57%–76%). No gender differences exist between the profiles. When comparing mean differences in mathematics performance across the stable and significant transition patterns, it was revealed that students in the Positive well-being group performed significantly higher compared to the other profiles. In addition, students in the Negative well-being group performed the lowest in mathematics.