Journal of Child and Family Studies

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1098-0

ORIGINAL PAPER

The Transition from Middle School to High School: The Mediating

Role of Perceived Peer Support in the Relationship between Family
Functioning and School Satisfaction
Marinella Muscarà1 Ugo Pace1 Alessia Passanisi1 Giulio D’Urso1 Carla Zappulla2
● ● ● ●

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018

Abstract
The study focused on the transition from middle school to high school and aimed to verify the mediating role that perceived
peer support may play in the relationship between family functioning in middle school and school satisfaction in high school.
In middle school (Wave 1), participants were 208 adolescents (106 boys and 102 girls) aged 12–13 years (M = 12.56; SD
= .61), attending the last classes of two middle public schools located in Italy. One year later (Wave 2), 155 adolescents (76
1234567890();,:

boys and 79 girls) participated again in the study when they attended the first classes of high school (M = 13.91; SD = .75).
1234567890();,:

Participants completed the Italian Version of Family Assessment Device and the Social Support Questionnaire (short from)
in Wave 1 and the Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale in Wave 2. Results showed that among family
functioning dimensions, only affective involvement positively predicted perceived peer support and school satisfaction. The
mediation models showed that perceived peer support in middle school mediated the relationship between affective
involvement in middle school and school satisfaction in high school. Our results confirm the role of subjective perception of
peer support in contributing to the prediction of school satisfaction beyond good parental affective involvement.
Keywords Transition to high school Perceived peer support Family functioning School satisfaction
● ● ●

Introduction Some studies underlined how, for children in elementary

The transition from middle to high school is a significant
developmental stage for its possible implications on the
negative outcomes on youth satisfaction in both cycles and
academic settings. The many changes linked to the passage
from one school cycle to another represent a challenge
whose outcomes are closely tied to socio-emotional vari-
ables in which family and peers play key roles (Freund et al.
2013; Persson et al. 2016; Suizzo et al. 2016; Tian et al.
2016). This period demands new resources to deal with
changes and can result in academic difficulties and social
struggles that inhibit students’ abilities to be successful
(Kennelly and Monrad 2007; Scalera and Alivernini 2010).
* Ugo Pace
ugopax@gmail.com
1
Kore University of Enna, Enna, Italy
2
University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
school, especially in the early grades, school satisfaction is a
crucial factor related to general well-being and to sub-
sequent academic success (Duchesne et al. 2017; Gómez
et al. 2017; Hidayah et al. 2016; Sun 2016; Verkuyten and
Thijs 2002). School satisfaction has been defined as the
students’ general well-being at school (Epstein and
Mcpartland 1976), the subjective, cognitive-affective
appraisals and evaluations of their quality of school life
and of the positivity of school experiences as a whole
(Baker 1998; Huebner 1994; Huebner et al. 2001). As a
subjective construct, students’ perceptions and experiences
on the basis of perceived satisfaction vary greatly. Conse-
quently, satisfied adolescents fare better in terms of mental
health, behavior, and academic indicators of success (Tian
et al. 2016). Perceived school satisfaction is thus an
important indicator of both general adaptation and success
in future transitions and developmental tasks (Chen et al.
2015; Persson et al. 2016) and can be therefore considered
one of the main protective factors that may help the ado-
lescent successfully accomplish school transition. Con-
versely, dissatisfaction with school has been identified as

the most common reason students provide for dropping out,
especially during the adolescent years (U.S. Department of
Education 1990).
A recent Italian study (Migliorini et al. 2018) emphasized
how school satisfaction should be examined and studied
from the point of view of risk and protection factors to
encourage promotion interventions. Furthermore, from the
work by Daehlen (2015), it is deduced that the European
school is a place where the opportunity to exploit emotional
skills and relationships is configured as a variable connected
to school satisfaction.
According to the social-ecological model of Bronfen-
brenner (1979, 1994), adolescents’ satisfaction with school
may be better understood if one takes into account the
interdependent relationships between the child and his or
her development context. From this perspective, the human
development is a bidirectional interaction between indivi-
duals and the different systems they are a part of. Especially
during the adolescence stages, the roles of family and peer
group are fundamental for youngsters to experience greater
school satisfaction (DeSantis-King et al. 2006; Oriol et al.
2017).
In regard to family, the research has mainly focused on
how parenting practices and support are related to levels of
adolescent school satisfaction (Chen and Gregory 2009;
Crede et al. 2015; Gregson et al. 2017; Jindal-Snape and
Miller 2008; Smokowski et al. 2015; Wilder 2014). There is
indeed a lack of research devoted to the relationship
between general family functioning (and its specific
dimensions) and adolescents’ school satisfaction. Family
functioning reflects overall health of a family with regard to
the ability to solve problems that threaten the family unit, to
support each other, to communicate clearly, to experience
appropriate feelings in response to situations, and to be
emotionally concerned with and interested in each other
(Epstein et al. 1983, 2003). Family support and involvement
and healthy general functioning have been found to increase
satisfaction with school (Oriol et al. 2017).
In the peer domain, peer support has been found to be an
important protective factor in school transition (Martínez
et al. 2011), and it is connected with school satisfaction
(Guzzo et al. 2013; Keay et al. 2015; Passanisi and Pace
2017; Pyhältö et al. 2010; West et al. 2010). The school, as
a context of learning and development, provides opportu-
nities for peer relationships that inevitably influence school
satisfaction, especially considering general socialization
habits of adolescents (Newland et al. 2015; Vedder et al.
2005). During adolescence—a period in which youngsters
need to be accepted by their peer group—the support of this
group has been found to predict greater satisfaction with
school experience (Oriol et al. 2017; Wolf et al. 2015).
Journal of Child and Family Studies
Within Bronfenbrenner’s ecological paradigm, both
family and peer systems play significant roles in indivi-
duals’ developmental trajectories. Recent studies suggest
that high levels of family and peer support are associated
with school satisfaction (Hampden-Thompson and Galindo
2017; Jiang et al. 2013) and suitable school transition
(Waters et al. 2014). However, the links between family
functioning, peer support, and later satisfaction with school
are not linear. Indeed, several studies underlined how
relationships with parents are connected to the genesis of
relationships with peers (Chappel et al. 2014; Pace et al.
2014; Seibert and Kerns 2015), who, in turn, may play a
relevant role in school satisfaction. Generalizing from
research using late-childhood samples, early family rela-
tionships may impact not only the teen’s social expectations
about whether and how well his or her needs will be met in
peer relationships, but also how the teen’s feelings of self-
worth or self-efficacy are affected with regard to the needs
met (Pace et al. 2016). From an attachment perspective
(Bowlby 1979; Collins and Feeney 2004; Jones and Cassidy
2014), healthy family functioning may help adolescents
develop trust not only in themselves but also in others who
are perceived as supportive. The subjective perceptions
adolescents have of the availability of support seem to be
crucial for increasing their school satisfaction. The ability to
rely on social support from peers represents the dis-
criminating factor between an adaptive and a maladaptive
development trajectory (Main et al. 1985; Oriol et al. 2017;
Pace et al. 2016).
Starting from these considerations, the main goal of the
study was to test a model of mediation, exploring the total,
direct, and indirect effects of family functioning on school
satisfaction during the transition from middle to high
school. In particular, in line with the literature (Newland
et al. 2015; Oriol et al. 2017; Persson et al. 2016; Smo-
kowski et al. 2015; Woolley et al. 2009), we hypothesized
that healthy family functioning in middle school would be
positively associated with school satisfaction in high school.
Moreover, as studies have suggested (Hampden-Thompson
and Galindo 2017; Jiang et al. 2013; Oriol et al 2017), we
also expected that healthy family functioning in middle
school would be positively associated with perceived peer
support in middle school that, in turn, would be positively
related to school satisfaction in high school after controlling
for the family functioning. Finally, estimating the indirect
effects of family functioning on school satisfaction through
perceived peer support, we tested the hypothesis that per-
ceived peer support would be an intervening variable
between healthy family functioning in middle school and
school satisfaction in high school.
Journal of Child and Family Studies
Method
Participants
Participants in this study were drawn from a larger long-
itudinal study on the transition from middle school to high
school. In Wave 1, participants were 208 early adolescents
(106 boys and 102 girls) aged from 12 to 13 years (M =
12.56; SD = .61), attending the third (and last) classes of
two middle public schools located in a big city of southern
Italy. We selected schools that were in an area of middle
socio-economic level, so that we could more easily recover
adolescents in the transition to high school. One year later,
in Wave 2, the same adolescents participated again in the
study when they attended the first classes of high school
(M = 13.91; SD = .75). Of the entire group, at Wave 2 only
155 adolescents (76 boys and 79 girls) participated again in
the study, because some of them (N = 53) were not found
or had moved. Mediation analyses were conducted only
with the group of adolescents who participated in both
waves (N = 155). All the participants were Caucasian and,
based on demographic information, were mostly of middle
class backgrounds. The majority (79%) of the participants’
parents had completed high school or had a college degree.
Most of the participants (91%) came from intact two-parent
families. At both Waves, a written informed consent was
obtained for all by sending letters to their parents in order
to inform them of the study. All parents gave consent to
their children to participate in the research. We also
obtained assent from all the adolescents involved in the
study. All participants voluntarily and anonymously took
part in the study and provided written informed consent.
Participants were administered the questionnaires described
below and returned them in a sealed envelope to ensure
confidentiality.
Procedure
This study is part of a larger longitudinal study on the
role played by individual and relational characteristics
during early adolescence as precursors of developmental
outcomes in middle and late adolescence. Data collection
for the current study took place when adolescents were
attending the last year of middle school (Wave 1) and,
one year later, when they were attending the first year of
high school (Wave 2). Two researchers collected data
during school visits conducted in February, March and
April 2014 (Wave 1) and in February, March and April
2015 (Wave 2). Participants completed self-report mea-
sures on family functioning and perceived peer support at
Wave 1 and self-report measures on school satisfaction at
Wave 2. No questionnaire was rejected due to missing
data.
Measures
Family functioning
We administered the Italian version (Grandi et al. 2007) of
Family Assessment Device (FAD; Epstein et al. 1983) to
assess the adolescents’ perception of family functioning. It
consisted of 60 items concerning seven dimensions of
family functioning: General Functioning (e.g., “Reciprocal
support in times of crisis”; α = .89), Communication (e.g.,
“Saying things instead of hinting at them”; α = .78),
Problem-solving (e.g., “Resolution of most everyday pro-
blems around the house”; α = .75), Family Roles (e.g.,
“Making sure members meet family responsibilities”; α
= .44), Affective Responsiveness (e.g., “Ability to cry
openly”; α = .84), Affective Involvement (e.g., “Paying
interest to others when something is important to them”; α
= .76), and Behavior Control (e.g., “Knowledge of what to
do in an emergency”; α = .58). Participants were asked to
answer on a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly
disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). A weighted sum of the
scores of the scales (weighted by the number of items in
each scale) was computed for each participant, with higher
scores indicating healthier family functioning. The Italian
version of the measure has shown good reliability and
internal consistency relative to the single subscales (α
= .89), as well as to the entire questionnaire (α = .94).
Perceived peer support
We administered the six-item short form (SSQ6; Sarason
et al. 1987; α = .92) of the Social Support Questionnaire
(SSQ; Sarason et al. 1983) to assess adolescents’ appraisal
of the support that might be available to peers. Each item
(e.g. “Whom can you really count on to distract you from
worries when you feel under stress?”) has two parts, one
asking about people whom the adolescents can count on for
help or support, the other asking to rate how satisfied (from
1 = very dissatisfied to 6 = very satisfied) adolescents are
with the support received. For the present study, we used
the perceived support from close peers (friends, classmates).
Higher scores indicated higher levels of perceived support.
Cronbach’s alpha in this study was .82.
School satisfaction
We administered the Italian version (Zappulla et al. 2014)
of the Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale
(MSLSS; Huebner 1991; Huebner et al. 2012) to assess
adolescents’ school satisfaction. It consisted of 30 items
concerning five domains of life satisfaction, including
family, friends, living environment, school, and self. Parti-
cipants were asked to answer on a 4-point Likert scale,
 Journal of Child and Family Studies

ranging from 1 (never) to 4 (almost always). In the present Table 1 Descriptive statistics of the study variables (N = 155)
study we considered only the domain of school satisfaction Boys Girls
(e.g. “I look forward to going to school”; Cronbach’s alpha n = 76 n = 79
= .81). The Italian version of the measure has shown good M (SD) M (SD) F (1, 153)
reliability and internal consistency relative to the single
General functioning 3.02 (.38) 3.04 (.42) .543
subscales (alphas’ coefficients ranged from .71 to .94), as
well as to the entire questionnaire (α = .91). Communication 3.21 (.36) 3.27 (.43) .87
Problem solving 3.11 (.33) 4.01 (.47) 4.11*
Data analyses Family roles 3.03 (.34) 3.02 (.33) .85
Affective responsiveness 3.11 (.45) 3.14 (.59) .09
We conducted preliminary analyses, including comparisons Affective involvement 2.82 (.43) 2.97 (.51) 5.39*
between participants in both Wave 1 and Wave 2 and those Behavior control 2.81 (.34) 2.83 (.33) .19
who did not participated in Wave 2, descriptive statistics of Perceived peer support 3.31 (.61) 3.35 (.57) .31
the study variables, and a preliminary regression analysis to School satisfaction 2.22 (62) 2.31 (.1.23) .18
examine the associations between dimensions of family *p < .05
functioning in middle school and school satisfaction in high
school. To examine whether perceived peer support mediated
Table 2 Regression analysis predicting school satisfaction from
the relationship between each dimension of family function- dimensions of family functioning
ing and school satisfaction, we performed a series of
regression analysis each in three steps, as suggested by Baron Variable B SE B t p
and Kenny (1986). In step 1, we examined the total effect of General functioning .52 .30 1.63 .12
each dimension of family functioning on school satisfaction. Communication −.20 −.08 −.78 .43
In step 2, we examined the effect of each dimension of family Problem solving .58 .22 1.05 .13
functioning on perceived peer support, the proposed med- Family roles −.07 −.02 −.25 .79
iator. In step 3, we entered each significant family functioning Affective responsiveness −.29 −.16 −1.41 .15
dimension and perceived peer support together as indepen- Affective involvement .66 .15 2.43 .02
dent variables in the analysis to examine their joint effect on
Behavior control −.60 −.22 −1.17 .13
school satisfaction. Also, we checked if the magnitude of the
direct effect of each dimension of family functioning on
school satisfaction has decreased (partial mediation) or participate in Wave 2 (N = 53) did not show significant
become not significant (full mediation) compared with the differences in the variables considered. To explore the role
total effect. Gender was entered in each regression as control of gender on dimensions of family functioning, perceived
variable. Although the procedure described by Baron and peer support and school satisfaction, we conducted a Uni-
Kenny became very popular and continues to be widely used variate Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Data (Table 1)
in psychological research, in recent years, there is growing showed significant main effects of gender only on problem
consensus that the causal steps approach has several con- solving (F(1153) = 4.11, p < .05) and affective family
ceptual and statistical limits (Hayes 2009; LeBreton et al. involvement (F(1153) = 5.39, p < .05), with boys reporting
2009). Preacher et al. (2007) recommend the estimation of lower levels of problem solving and affective family
conditional indirect effects, and testing, using a bootstrap CI, involvement than girls.
whether these indirect effects differ from zero at specific A preliminary regression analysis was performed to
values of the moderator of practical or theoretical interest or examine the associations between dimensions of family
relevance. We did so using a SPSS macro PROCESS (v2.15) functioning in middle school and school satisfaction in high
Model 4, with 5000 bootstrap samples and 95%confidence school. Data (Table 2) showed a positive and significant
intervals (Hayes 2013). effect only for affective involvement (β = .35, p < .000).

The Mediating Effect of Perceived Peer Support

Results
Preliminary Analyses: Descriptive Statistics and
Regressions
Comparisons between adolescents who participated both in
Wave 1 and Wave 2 (N = 155) and those who did not
Following the steps enumerated by Baron and Kenny
(1986), we conducted several sets of regression analysis to
examine whether perceived peer support in middle school
mediated the relationship between each dimension of family
functioning and school satisfaction in high school. The
following steps must be met to establish mediation: (1) the
Journal of Child and Family Studies

independent variable (each dimension of family functioning
in middle school) predicts the dependent variable (school
satisfaction in high school); (2) the independent variable
predicts the mediator (perceived peer support in middle
school); (3) the mediator and the independent variable pre-
dict the dependent variable with the effect of the indepen-
dent variable on the dependent variable that becomes not
significant or that decreases when controlling for the med-
iator. Since among the dimensions of family functioning,
only affective involvement met conditions to establish
mediation, we only performed the mediation model exam-
ining whether perceived peer support in middle school
mediated the relationship between affective involvement in
middle school and school satisfaction in high school. Results
from the regression analysis are presented in Table 3.
The total effect of affective involvement in middle school
on school satisfaction (Fig. 1a) was statistically significant
(β = .35, p < .000). As shown in Fig. 1b, also the effect of
affective involvement in middle school on perceived peer
support in middle school (β = .33, p < .001) was statistically
significant as well as the effect of perceived peer support in
middle school on school satisfaction in high school (β
= .31, p < .000). Finally, the magnitude of the direct effect
of affective involvement in middle school on school satis-
faction in high school when controlling for the effect of
perceived peer support in middle school (Fig. 1b) has
decreased (β = .14, p < .05) compared with the total effect
of affective involvement on school satisfaction (Fig. 1a),
suggesting a partial mediation. Bootstrapping analysis
indicated that affective involvement in middle school has
exerted an indirect effect on school satisfaction in high
school through the intervention of perceived peers support
in middle school (indirect estimate = 0.013, p < 0.05; [95%
confidence interval [CI] = .01 to .02).

Table 3 Perceived peer support in middle school mediating the association between affective involvement in middle school and school satisfaction
in high school
B SEB β F (1, 154) R2

Perceived peer support as mediator

1. Affective involvement → School satisfaction (path c) .66 .15 .35*** 17.01*** .05
2. Affective involvement → Perceived peer support (path a) .10 .03 .33*** 14.23*** .03
3. Perceived peer support → School satisfaction (path b) .34 .08 .31*** 11.34*** .01
4. Affective involvement → School satisfaction (path c′) .06 .03 .14*
Note: In each mediation analysis gender was controlled
*p < .05; ***p < .000

Fig. 1 Total, direct and indirect a

effects of affective involvement
in middle school on school
Affective involvement β = .35*** School satisfaction
satisfaction in high school. a
Illustration of the total effect: in middle school in high school
Affective involvement in middle
school affects school satisfaction
in high school, b Illustration of
the Mediation Design: Affective
involvement in middle school b
affects school satisfaction in
high school through perceived Perceived peer support
peer support in middle school in middle school

β = .31***
β = .33***

Affective involvement β = .14* School satisfaction

in middle school in high school


Discussion
The study examined the relationships between family
functioning, perceived peer support, and school satisfaction
to verify whether perceived peer support might intervene in
the relationship between family functioning and school
satisfaction during the transition from middle to high
school. We hypothesized a mediation model that explored
the total, direct, and indirect effects of family functioning in
middle school on school satisfaction in high school, in
which perceived peer support acted as a mediator in the
relationship between family functioning and school
satisfaction.
Preliminary analyses showed gender differences for only
two dimensions of family functioning, with boys reporting
lower levels of problem solving and affective family
involvement than girls. In line with the literature (Grandi
et al. 2007), these results might suggest that girls, compared
to boys, are more likely to develop greater abilities of
preserving effective emotional functioning with parents,
resolve crisis situations, give attention to emotional and
relational dynamics of family life, and learn to present
themselves as available for meetings the needs of others.
Therefore, it is possible that girls more easily access and use
affective and relational skills that allow them to overcome
critical phases of development and more easily pursue their
goals. These data, in practice, translate with the need to
promote interventions for implementing socio-emotional
skills to avoid possible failures, stimulate prosocial beha-
viors, and, more generally, increase adolescent satisfaction
in school contexts.
As for the total effect of family functioning on school
satisfaction, the results showed that only family involve-
ment in middle school was associated with school satis-
faction in high school. According with recent literature
(Hampden-Thompson and Galindo 2017; Keay et al.
2015; Waters et al. 2014), these data probably suggest
that, for adolescents, the emotional components of the
parent-child relationship are important for developing
adaptation skills and satisfying the need for support. In
this sense, the parents represent the “safe place,” an
important protective factor along the school path. The
parent-child affective connection can also help adoles-
cents in overcoming critical moments (e.g., school tran-
sition) usually characterized by fears, uncertainties, and
social shortcomings. Moreover, perceived peer support in
middle school directly predicts school satisfaction in high
school. In other words, both variables may be considered
relevant protective factors able to increase the well-being
of adolescents engaged in school transition and help them
to adapt more successfully, thus moving on to greater
school achievement with the concomitant desire to con-
tinue achieving academic goals.
Journal of Child and Family Studies
The results from the mediating model confirm the
validity of a theoretical framework of joint family affective
involvement, perceived peer support, and school satisfac-
tion, with the subjective perception of peer support in
middle school contributing to the prediction of school
satisfaction in high school beyond parent involvement. This
could indicate that individuals who feel emotionally
involved in the family during early stage of adolescence
learn to exploit the protective value of their peer networks.
In this case, adolescents feel satisfied with school at later
stages, as the recent literature suggests (Tian et al. 2016).
This result is in line with recent investigations that under-
lined how, for adolescents, early relationships with parents
are strictly connected to the genesis of relationships with
peers (Chappel et al. 2014; Pallini et al. 2014; Seibert and
Kerns 2015). Therefore, positive relations with parents
increase peer socialization, satisfying the socio-emotional
needs of adolescents in subsequent periods of development.
However, during early adolescence, it is important that
children understand the need for establishing profitable
relationships and exploiting their networks to achieve
autonomy and satisfaction, especially at school. Indeed, the
literature (Keay et al. 2015; Newland et al. 2015) empha-
sizes how classroom satisfaction with the peer network is a
predictive factor of later school satisfaction during adoles-
cence and the adulthood. Nevertheless, some studies
underlined how family and friendship commitment is
strictly related to choices to continue studies (e.g., uni-
versity) and/or to enter the workplace (Hampden-Thompson
and Galindo 2017; Passanisi et al. 2017; Suizzo et al. 2016;
Wilder 2014).
The results suggest that adolescent school satisfaction
may be connected to a more positive family atmosphere,
including the ability of parents to engage with their children
emotionally. Affective involvement with parents becomes
the ability to engage with extra-family figures when
development tasks tend to replace primary figures with
peers. In light of this, adolescents who have no suitable
affective involvement with parents achieve low levels of
school adjustment. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that
it is the perception that adolescents have of the availability
of support, and not the actual support received, that inter-
venes in the relationship between affective involvement of
parents and later school satisfaction. The possibility of
relying on peers for social support appears to represent an
important factor in mediating the relationship between
family affective involvement and later school satisfaction.
This study seems to suggest the opportunity to create
educational strategies involving parents and peers, as both
networks represent interconnected key factors in human
developmental stages, in particular during school transition
and increasing academic success (Hamm et al. 2011;
Goodall and Montgomery 2014; Tian et al. 2016). In other
Journal of Child and Family Studies
words, suitable relationship commitment and affective
parental involvement seem to be essential needs during
early adolescence for increasing school satisfaction. In this
sense, it would be good for teachers to take into account not
only individual children, but also the plot of social inter-
actions that develop in their classes. Seeing that isolation
can lead to a reduction of scholastic satisfaction, in this way
they could seek to promote cooperation via activities and
didactic strategies aimed at collective learning, whereby
children help each other to learn new concepts. At the same
time, such an aim would increase parental awareness that
their active involvement in their children’s learning process
does indeed exert a powerful influence on their children’s
ability to establish and strengthen relationships with peers
and thus reduce difficulties during scholastic transition
(Webster-Stratton 1998). Obviously, future studies need to
be carried out to verify such emotional and socio-relational
skills, not to mention the degree of scholastic satisfaction
during the transitions from one school cycle to another and
between secondary school and university. It is already clear
that the teacher’s role should be seen as not just one who
imparts knowledge at one particular school level, but also as
a facilitator of the learning experience throughout the entire
scholastic period. Teachers should focus on strategies that
satisfy the need for relatedness, which is important for
social and school adaptation, by creating opportunities
where adolescents can experience the importance of peer
relationships and the importance of emotional commu-
nication with parents.
Limitations and Future Research
Although the present investigation provides valuable new
insights about the key role of peers and affective parental
involvement, which are fundamental for school satisfaction
during early adolescence, a few important considerations
should also be made. First, the use of self-report ques-
tionnaires allows for a partial assessment of the complexity
of the variables considered in the study. This limit becomes
particularly relevant concerning the social desirability of
participants. Future research on school satisfaction and
psychological correlates could therefore benefit from the
use of other types of measure (e.g., different informants,
observations, interviews, etc.). Second, perceived peer
support was assessed in middle school, whereas school
satisfaction was assessed in high school, so it was not
possible to compare real-time data about the stability of
social support and school satisfaction in high school. Future
research could focus on the reciprocal association between
peer relationships and school satisfaction across time.
Finally, although the current design is appropriate for test-
ing the mediation model, a more comprehensive analysis of
the causal directions may require full-panel longitudinal
data collected from more than two time points, preferably
with one of the time points occurring during early adult-
hood, i.e., by following the participants during transition
from high school to the first years of university. This would
allow for verification of school satisfaction across time and
further test our model.
Author Contributions M.M.: collaborated with the design and writing
of the study; G.D.U.: collaborated with the design and writing of the
study and analyzed the data and wrote part of the results; A.P.: col-
laborated with the design and writing of the study; U.P. e C.Z.:
designed and executed the study, assisted with the data analyses,
collaborated in the writing and editing of the final manuscript.
Compliance with Ethical Standards
Conflict of Interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of
interest.
Ethical Approval All procedures performed in studies involving
human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of
the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964
Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical
standards and were approved by the Italian Psychology Association.
Informed Consent Informed consent was obtained from all individual
participants included in the study.
References
Baker, J. A. (1998). The social context of school satisfaction among
urban, low-income, African-American students. School Psychol-
ogy Quarterly, 13, 25–44.
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator
variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual,
strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182.
Bowlby, J. (1979). The making and breaking of affectional bonds.
London: Tavistock.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Bronfenbrenner, U (1994). Ecological models of human development.
In International Encyclopedia of Education. 2nd edn. Oxford:
Elsevier.
Chappel, A. M., Suldo, S. M., & Ogg, J. A. (2014). Associations
between adolescents’ family stressors and life satisfaction.
Journal of Child and Family Studies, 23, 76–84.
Chen, W. B., & Gregory, A. (2009). Parental involvement as a pro-
tective factor during the transition to high school. Journal of
Educational Research, 103, 53–62.
Chen, X., Morin, A. J., Parker, P. D., & Marsh, H. W. (2015).
Developmental investigation of the domain-specific nature of the
life satisfaction construct across the post-school transition.
Developmental Psychology, 51, 1074–1085.
Collins, N. L., & Feeney, B. C. (2004). Working models of attachment
shape perceptions of social support: Evidence from experimental
and observational studies. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 87, 363–383.
Crede, J., Wirthwein, L., McElvany, N., & Steinmayr, R. (2015).
Adolescents’ academic achievement and life satisfaction: The role
of parents’ education. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 52.

Daehlen, M. (2015). Child welfare clients and school satisfaction.
European Journal of Social Work, 18, 430–442.
DeSantis-King, A. L., Huebner, S., Suldo, S. M., & Valois, R. F.
(2006). An ecological view of school satisfaction in adolescence:
Linkages between social support and behavior problems. Applied
Research in Quality of Life, 1, 279–295.
Duchesne, S., Ratelle, C. F., & Feng, B. (2017). Psychological need
satisfaction and achievement goals: Exploring indirect effects of
academic and social adaptation following the transition to sec-
ondary school. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 37,
1280–1308.
Epstein, N. B., Baldwin, L. M., & Bishop, D. S. (1983). The
McMaster family assessment device. Journal of Marital and
Family Therapy, 9, 171–180.
Epstein, J. L., & Mcpartland, J. M. (1976). The concept and mea-
surement of the quality of school life. American Educational
Research Journal, 13, 15–30.
Epstein, N., Ryan, C., Bishop, D., Miller, I., & Keitner, G. (2003). The
McMaster model: A view of healthy family functioning. In F.
Walsh (Ed.), Normal family processes: Growing diversity and
complexity (3rd ed., pp. 581–607). New York, NY: Guilford
Press.
Freund, A. M., Weiss, D., & Wiese, B. S. (2013). Graduating from
high school: The role of gender-related attitudes, self-concept and
goal clarity in a major transition in late adolescence. European
Journal of Developmental Psychology, 10, 580–596.
Gómez, D. O., Casas, F., Inzunza, J. A., & Costa, P. A. (2017). School
and neighborhood: influences ofsubjective well-being in Chilean
children. In: Sarriera J., & Bedin L. (Eds), Psychosocial well-being
of childrenand adolescents in Latin America Children’s well-being:
Indicators and research (pp. 153–165). Springer, Cham.
Goodall, J., & Montgomery, C. (2014). Parental involvement to par-
ental engagement: A continuum. Educational Review, 66,
399–410.
Grandi, S., Fabbri, S., Scortichini, S., & Bolzani, R. (2007). Valida-
zione italiana del Family Assessment Device. (FAD). [Italian
validation of the Family Assessment Device (FAD)]. Rivista di
Psichiatria, 42, 114–122.
Gregson, K. D., Tu, K. M., Erath, S. A., & Pettit, G. S. (2017).
Parental social coaching promotes adolescent peer acceptance
across the middle school transition. Journal of Family Psychol-
ogy, 31, 668–678.
Guzzo, G., Lo Cascio, V., & Pace, U. (2013). The role of individual
and relational characteristics on alcohol consumption among
Italian adolescents: A discriminant function analysis. Child
Indicators Research, 6, 605–618.
Hamm, J. V., Farmer, T. W., Dadisman, K., Gravelle, M., & Murray,
A. R. (2011). Teachers’ attunement to students’ peer group
affiliations as a source of improved student experiences of the
school social–affective context following the middle school
transition. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 32,
267–277.
Hampden-Thompson, G., & Galindo, C. (2017). School–family rela-
tionships, school satisfaction and the academic achievement of
young people. Educational Review, 69, 248–265.
Hayes, A. F. (2009). Beyond Baron and Kenny: Statistical mediation
analysis in the new millennium. Communication Monographs,
76, 408–420.
Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation and
conditional process analysis. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Hidayah, N., Ramli, M. P. M., & Hanurawan, F. (2016). Students’
well-being assessment at school. Journal of Educational, Health
and Community Psychology, 5, 62–71.
Huebner, E. S. (1991). Initial development and validation of a Mul-
tidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale for children. Psychological
Assessment, 6, 149–158.
Journal of Child and Family Studies
Huebner, E. S. (1994). Preliminary development and validation of a
multidimensional life satisfaction scale for children. Psychologi-
cal Assessment, 6, 149–158.
Huebner, E. S., Ash, C., & Laughlin, J. E. (2001). Life experiences,
locus of control, and school satisfaction in adolescence. Social
Indicators Research, 55, 167–183.
Huebner, E. S., Zullig, K. J., & Saha, R. (2012). Factor structure and
reliability of an abbreviated version of the Multidimensional
Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale. Child Indicator Research, 5,
561–657.
Jiang, X., Huebner, E. S., & Siddall, J. (2013). A short-term long-
itudinal study of differential sources of school-related social
support and adolescents’ school satisfaction. Social Indicators
Research, 114, 1073–1086.
Jindal-Snape, D., & Miller, D. J. (2008). A challenge of living?
Understanding the psycho-social processes of the child during
primary-secondary transition through resilience and self- esteem
theories. Education Psychology Review, 20, 217–236.
Jones, J. D., & Cassidy, J. (2014). Parental attachment style: Exam-
ination of links with parent secure base provision and adolescent
secure base use. Attachment & Human Development, 16,
437–461.
Keay, A., Lang, J., & Frederickson, N. (2015). Comprehensive support
for peer relationships at secondary transition. Educational Psy-
chology in Practice, 31, 279–292.
Kennelly, L., & Monrad, M. (2007). Approaches to dropout preven-
tion: Heeding early warning signs with appropriate interven-
tions. Washington, DC: National High School Center, American
Institutes for Research.
LeBreton, J. M., Wu, J., & Bing, M. N. (2009). The truth(s) on testing
for mediation in the social and organizational sciences. In C. E.
Lance & R. J. Vandenberg (Eds.), Statistical and methodological
myths and urban legends: Doctrine, verity, and fable in the
organizational and social sciences. New York, NY: Routledge.
Main, M, Kaplan, N. & Cassidy, J. (1985). Security in infancy,
childhood, and adulthood: A move to the level of representation.
In I. Bretherton & E. (Eds.), Monographs of the society for
research in child development.
Martínez, R. S., Aricak, O. T., Graves, M. N., Peters-Myszak, J., &
Nellis, L. (2011). Changes in perceived social support and
socioemotional adjustment across the elementary to junior high
school transition. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40,
519–530.
Migliorini, L., Tassara, T., & Rania, N. (2018). A study of subjective
well-being and life satisfaction in Italy: How are children doing at
8 years of age? Child Indicators Research. https://doi.org/10.
1007/s12187-017-9514-3.
Newland, L. A., Lawler, M. J., Giger, J. T., Roh, S., & Carr, E. R.
(2015). Predictors of children’s subjective well-Being in rural
communities of the United States. Child Indicators Research, 8,
177–198.
Oriol, X., Torres, J., Miranda, R., Bilbao, M., & Ortúzar, H. (2017).
Comparing family, friends and satisfaction with school experi-
ence as predictors of SWB in children who have and have not
made the transition to middle school in different countries.
Children and Youth Services Review, 80, 149–156.
Pace, U., Zappulla, C., Guzzo, G., Di Maggio, R., Laudani, C., &
Cacioppo, M. (2014). Internet addiction, temperament, and the
moderator role of family emotional involvement. International
Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 12, 52–63.
Pace, U., Zappulla, C., & Di Maggio, R. (2016). The mediating role of
perceived peer support in the relation between quality of attach-
ment and internalizing problems in adolescence: A longitudinal
perspective. Attachment & Human Development, 18, 508–524.
Pallini, S., Baiocco, R., Schneider, B. H., Madigan, S., & Atkinson, L.
(2014). Early child–parent attachment and peer relations: A meta-
Journal of Child and Family Studies
analysis of recent research. Journal of Family Psychology, 28,
118–123.
Passanisi, A., Craparo, G., & Pace, U. (2017). Magical thinking and
decision-making strategies among late adolescent regular gam-
blers: A mediation model. Journal of Adolescence, 59, 51–58.
Passanisi, A., & Pace, U. (2017). The unique and common contribu-
tions of impulsivity and decision-making strategies among young
adult Italian regular gamblers. Personality and Individual Dif-
ferences, 105, 24–29.
Persson, L., Haraldsson, K., & Hagquist, C. (2016). School
satisfaction and social relations: Swedish school children’s
improvement suggestions. International Journal of Public
Health, 61, 83–90.
Preacher, K. J., Rucker, D. D., & Hayes, A. F. (2007). Assessing
moderated mediation hypotheses: Theory, methods, and pre-
scriptions. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 42, 185–227.
Pyhältö, K., Soini, T., & Pietarinen, J. (2010). Pupils’ pedagogical
well-being in comprehensive school-significant positive and
negative school experiences of Finnish ninth graders. European
Journal of Psychology of Education, 25, 207–221.
Sarason, I. G., Levine, H. M., Basham, R. B., & Sarason, B. R. (1983).
Assessing social support: The Social Support Questionnaire.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 127–139.
Sarason, I. G., Sarason, B. R., Shearin, E. N., & Pierce, G. R. (1987).
A brief measure of social support: Practical and theoretical
implications. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 4,
497–510.
Scalera, V., & Alivernini, F. (2010). High school transition: Theore-
tical underpinnings, development and validation of the Transition
Difficulty Scale (SDIT). Journal of Educational, Cultural and
Psychological Studies, 2, 55–94.
Seibert, A., & Kerns, K. (2015). Early mother–child attachment:
Longitudinal prediction to the quality of peer relationships in
middle childhood. International Journal of Behavioral Develop-
ment, 39, 130–138.
Smokowski, P. R., Bacallao, M. L., Cotter, K. L., & Evans, C. B.
(2015). The effects of positive and negative parenting practices
on adolescent mental health outcomes in a multicultural sample
of rural youth. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 46,
333–345.
Suizzo, M. A., Jackson, K. M., Pahlke, E., McClain, S., Marroquin,
Y., Blondeau, L. A., & Hong, K. (2016). Parents’ school satis-
faction and academic socialization predict adolescents’ autono-
mous motivation: A mixed-method study of low-income ethnic
minority families. Journal of Adolescent Research, 31, 343–374.
Sun, R. C. (2016). Student misbehavior in Hong Kong: The predictive
role of positive youth development and school satisfaction.
Applied Research in Quality of Life, 11, 773–789.
Tian, L., Chu, S., & Huebner, E. S. (2016). The chain of relationships
among gratitude, prosocial behavior and elementary school stu-
dents’ school satisfaction: The role of school affect. Child Indi-
cators Research, 9, 515–532.
Tian, L., Tian, Q., & Huebner, E. S. (2016). School-related social
support and adolescents’ school-related subjective well-being:
The mediating role of basic psychological needs satisfaction at
school. Social Indicators Research, 128, 105–129.
U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences,
National Center for Education Statistics. (1990). Digest of Edu-
cation Statistics, 1989. Washington, DC.
Vedder, P., Boekaerts, M., & Seegers, G. (2005). Perceived social
support and well being in school: The role of students’ ethnicity.
Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34, 269–278.
Verkuyten, M., & Thijs, J. (2002). School satisfaction of elementary
school children: The role of performance, peer relations, ethnicity
and gender. Social Indicators Research, 59, 203–228.
Waters, S., Lester, L., & Cross, D. (2014). How does support from
peers compare with support from adults as students transition to
secondary school? Journal of Adolescent Health, 54, 543–549.
Webster-Stratton, C. (1998). Preventing conduct problems in Head
Start children: Strengthening parenting competencies. Journal of
Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66, 715–730.
West, P., Sweeting, H., & Young, R. (2010). Transition matters:
Pupils’ experiences of the primary-secondary school transition in
the West of Scotland and consequences for well‐being and
attainment. Research Papers in Education, 25, 21–50.
Wilder, S. (2014). Effects of parental involvement on academic
achievement: A meta-synthesis. Educational Review, 66, 377–397.
Wolf, L. K., Bazargani, N., Kilford, E. J., Dumontheil, I., & Blake-
more, S. J. (2015). The audience effect in adolescence depends on
who’s looking over your shoulder. Journal of Adolescence, 43,
5–14.
Woolley, M. E., Kol, K. L., & Bowen, G. L. (2009). The social context
of school success for Latino middle school students: Direct and
indirect influences of teachers, family, and friends. The Journal of
Early Adolescence, 29, 43–70.
Zappulla, C., Pace, U., Lo Cascio, V., Guzzo, G., & Huebner, E. S.
(2014). Factor structure and convergent validity of the long and
abbreviated versions of the Multidimensional Students’ Life
Satisfaction Scale in an Italian sample. Social Indicators
Research, 118, 57–69.