THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SCHOOL STAFF SUPPORT AND WELLBEING FOR STUDENTS WITH POOR QUALITY SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS

Students with poor quality relationships (e.g., those lacking parent/carer support, peer support, and/or who are bullied by their peers) typically report lower wellbeing than their peers. Support from school staff may play a compensatory role for these vulnerable learners, but current evidence is meagre. Using data from N=25,977 adolescents (aged 12-15; 50.1% girls) from the #BeeWell study in Greater Manchester, England, we fitted a series of linear regression models to estimate the association between school staff support and psychological wellbeing; optimism; self-esteem; and, life satisfaction. These models were subsequently extended to explore potential moderation effects (i.e., whether the association between school staff support and wellbeing varies based on students’ level of parent/carer support, peer support, and/or exposure to bullying). Analyses revealed that higher levels of school staff support are significantly associated with higher levels of all four student wellbeing outcomes. Moderation analyses revealed a complex picture, with the nature and magnitude of effects varying by relationship and wellbeing outcome. For example, for self-esteem and life satisfaction, the association with school staff support is stronger for students reporting low (vs high) parent/carer support or who are exposed (vs unexposed) to bullying. In contrast, for psychological wellbeing and optimism, it is smaller for students reporting low (vs high) social support from peers. Collectively, these results highlight the importance of having supportive school staff for promoting student wellbeing. They also suggest that increasing school staff support is a potentially useful mechanism for bolstering the wellbeing of vulnerable students (e.g., those who are bullied).