A new study revealed that the transition from primary to secondary school is a predominant driver of adolescent wellbeing decline, surpassing age-related development. Analyzing data from over 20,000 students, researchers found significant declines across all wellbeing domains, including happiness, optimism, and cognitive engagement, with negative indicators increasing. These adverse changes persisted for over two years, with a magnitude comparable to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on wellbeing. Female students and those in remote areas experienced more pronounced or sustained declines. The study emphasizes that schools must view this transition as an ongoing wellbeing process, providing targeted, continuous support well beyond initial orientation, especially for vulnerable groups.
A new study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry looked at wellbeing decline during adolescence and school transition as a predominant driver beyond age progression.
“Our study looked at how students’ wellbeing changes when they move from primary school to secondary school,” study author Mi Zhou told us. “We were particularly interested in whether the decline in wellbeing often seen in early adolescence is simply part of growing up, or whether the school transition itself plays an important role. We were also interested in how long those changes lasted and whether some groups of students were more affected than others.”
The researchers approached the study from a life-course perspective, which views school transition as an important developmental turning point. They expected that moving from primary to secondary school would be associated with a decline in student wellbeing, because students need to adapt to a new school environment, new peers and teachers, and greater academic and social demands.
“At the same time, we did not expect all students to experience the transition in the same way,” Zhou told us. “Based on previous research, we expected that some students might show greater declines than others, and that factors such as gender, geographic location, language background, and parental education could shape how students experience this transition.”
The transition from primary to secondary school is a major developmental and educational milestone. Students are moving into a new environment, meeting new peers and teachers, facing higher academic expectations, and often leaving behind familiar relationships and routines. These changes happen at the same time as early adolescence, which is already a sensitive period for social and emotional development.
“I was particularly interested in this topic because wellbeing declines during the teenage years are often treated as normal adolescence,” Zhou told us. “But if school transition is a major driver, then that gives schools, families, and policymakers a clear opportunity to provide better support.”
The researchers used a natural experiment created by an education reform in South Australia. In 2022, two different age cohorts started secondary school at the same time. One cohort transitioned in year seven and the other in year eight. This gave the researchers a rare opportunity to separate the effect of age from the effect of school transition.
“We analyzed data from 20,910 students, contributing 104,800 wellbeing observations between 2019 and 2025,” Zhou told us. “Wellbeing was measured across eight domains, and we used linear mixed-effects regression models to examine changes over time and whether these changes differed by sociodemographic factors.”
The researchers found that student wellbeing declined across all measured domains after the move to secondary school. Positive wellbeing indicators such as happiness, optimism, perseverance, emotional regulation, cognitive engagement, and life satisfaction declined, while negative indicators such as sadness and worry increased.
The largest declines were seen in cognitive engagement and perseverance, which suggests that the transition may affect not only emotional wellbeing but also students’ motivation and willingness to engage with learning. Importantly, these declines persisted for more than two years after the transition.
“We also found that younger and older cohorts showed similar adverse changes, suggesting that the transition itself played a larger role than age-related development,” Zhou told us. “Female students experienced more pronounced declines, and students living in remote or very remote areas showed wellbeing declines that persisted into the third year after transition.”
The researchers were somewhat surprised with the results. A decline in students’ wellbeing during the transition is not unexpected. What surprised them was the magnitude of the decline.
„If you look at the figures in our paper, the drop in wellbeing during the transition period is comparable to the decline observed during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Zhou told us. “In that sense, students going through this transition may be experiencing a disruption to their wellbeing of a similar scale.”
Zhou thinks the key message is that schools should treat the move to secondary school as an ongoing wellbeing transition, not just an administrative or academic step. Support should not stop after orientation week. Students may need continued monitoring and support throughout the early years of secondary school.
“The findings also suggest that support should be more targeted,” Zhou told us. “Female students and students in remote areas may need particular attention, because they appeared to experience greater or more sustained wellbeing declines. More broadly, the transition should be seen not only as a period of risk, but also as an opportunity to strengthen students’ wellbeing, belonging, confidence, and engagement.”
Categories: Alternative Mental Health Treatment , Anger , Anxiety | Tags: adolescence, anxiety, depression
Patricia Tomasi is a mom, maternal mental health advocate, journalist, and speaker. She writes regularly for the Huffington Post Canada, focusing primarily on maternal mental health after suffering from severe postpartum anxiety twice. You can find her Huffington Post biography here. Patricia is also a Patient Expert Advisor for the North American-based, Maternal Mental Health Research Collective and is the founder of the online peer support group – Facebook Postpartum Depression & Anxiety Support Group – with over 1500 members worldwide. Blog: www.patriciatomasiblog.wordpress.com
Email: tomasi.patricia@gmail.com
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