What Kinds of Classroom Environments Affect Relations Between Inter-Peer-Group Status and Subjective School Adjustment?

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to clarify moderating effects of classroom climate on the relation between inter-peer-group status and subjective school adjustment. Participants were 7 th to 9 th grade students ( N ＝1 , 417 ), in 46 classrooms in 3 Japanese public schools. The data were obtained from self-reports. The classroom climates measured were (a) natural self-disclosure, and (b) friction between classmates. Status hierarchy was calculated from the standard deviation of inter-peer-group status in each classroom. Multilevel analysis revealed that the 2 types of classroom climate did not moderate relations between inter-peer-group status and the existence of tasks and purposes, but status hierarchy moderated this relationship. A simple slope test showed that, only in strong status hierarchy classrooms, the students in the higher status peer groups tended to report a higher existence of tasks and purposes. The discussion deals with differences between classrooms in terms of inter-peer-group status and subjective school adjustment, and the role of status hierarchies.