Relationships between School Climate and Values: The Mediating Role of Attitudes towards Authority in Adolescents

Abstract

School climate is related to a wide variety of positive results at the school level; however, its relationship with the construct of values has received little attention, despite being a key variable in the development of personality. This study aimed to examine the direct and indirect relationships between school climate, attitudes towards authority, and values. The participants in this study were 2683 students (51.2% men and 48.8% women) from 32 schools aged between 12 and 20 years (M = 15.78 years, SD = 1.35). Two models of structural equations were estimated, and the model that best fit the data confirmed that school climate was indirectly related to values through attitudes towards authority. The reciprocal and interactive relationships between school climate, attitudes towards authority, and values are also discussed.