Stress, Social Support, and Adjustment during the Transition to Middle School.

This study examined the role that stress in school and the family plays in early adolescents' adjustment during the transition from elementary to middle school. A total of 773 students (388 boys and 385 girls) from suburban communities in the northeastern United States were assessed at 3 time points: spring of Grade 5, fall of Grade 6, and spring of Grade 6. The students completed a school stress survey, daily hassles questionnaire, perceived social support scale, self-perception profile, depression inventory, and linking school scale. The results indicated that school stress at the beginning of the school year was an important predictor of the adjustment to the transition to middle school, over and above the affects of prior adjustment. Social support from family and teachers at the beginning of the school year was found to have both direct and indirect buffering effects. In addition, students who had more stress and experienced more depression in Grade 5 were likely to find the move into middle school more stressful than those students who experienced less stress and depression. (Contains 11 references.) (MDM)