AZERBAIJANI ADAPTATION OF THE PERCEIVED SCHOOL EXPERIENCE SCALE: EXAMINING ITS IMPACT ON PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AND SCHOOL SATISFACTION

School experience holds significant importance in the realm of educational environments in the 21st century. Thus, the aim of this study was to adapt the Perceived School Experience Scale for application among Azerbaijani adolescents and examine the interconnections between school experience, psychological distress, and school satisfaction. Data were collected from 1095 Azerbaijani adolescents (635 female and 456 male). Throughout the adaptation process, confirmatory factor analysis, assessments of criterion-related validity, and reliability were conducted. Additionally, the associations between school experience, psychological distress, and school satisfaction were explored through mediational analysis. The results from the confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the questionnaire encompassed 14 items, featured three school-related protective factors, and displayed an acceptable fit. The scale has been found to have satisfactory reliability coefficients for both its factors and the overall score. Furthermore, the findings established that school experience exhibited positive correlations with school satisfaction while demonstrating negative associations with psychological distress. Finally, the results unveiled that psychological distress played a mediating role in influencing school satisfaction through the pathways of school experience. These findings collectively suggest that the Azerbaijani version of the Perceived School Experience Scale boasts commendable psychometric properties. Keywords: school experience, school satisfaction, psychological distress, scale adaptation