School adjustment and anticipatory anxiety about the transition from elementary school to junior high school: A school psychology study

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to clarify the relation between first-year junior high school students' feeling of school adjustment and their anticipatory anxiety about the transition from elementary school to junior high school. An Anticipatory Anxiety Scale was developed in a preliminary study in which 16 junior high school students participated. Participants in the main study, 348 seventh-graders (195 boys, 153 girls), completed the Asakawa Inventory of School Adjustment for Junior High School Students. The main results were as follows: (a) The mean score on relations with teachers was significantly higher for the girls than the boys, and a significant interaction between anticipatory anxiety levels and gender was also found. At the end of May (the second month of the school year), a significant secondary interaction of time x anticipatory anxiety level x gender was found, (b) Emotional stability characteristics were high in order of the students with lower anticipatory anxiety, those with moderate anxiety, and those with higher anticipatory anxiety, © Motivation for sports and culture activities decreased significantly during the first months of the school year (April to May). The findings were discussed from the viewpoint of school psychology.