School transition from elementary to secondary school: changes in psychological adjustment

Abstract

School transition is a critical life event for many children. However, the effects of school transition on children's stress experiences reported in the literature have been inconsistent. The present study with 564 third- to sixth-graders compared the changes in experienced stress level and in somatic and psychological symptoms during the transition from elementary to secondary schools (from grade 4 to grade 5) to the changes of two control groups (experiencing changes from grades 3 to 4 and from grades 5 to 6, but without school transition). The results show decreases in experienced stress levels and somatic and psychological symptoms after school transition. However, these decreases reflect mainly recovery effects after the school summer break, as comparisons with the control groups indicate.