Peer-reviewed article
Socio-Economic Status, Mental Health Difficulties and Feelings about Transition to Secondary School among 10–11 Year Olds in Wales: Multi-Level Analysis of a Cross Sectional Survey
Graham F Moore, Lianna Angel, RACHEL M. A. BROWN, Jordan Van Godwin, Britt Hallingberg et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This survey of 2,218 children aged 10-11 in Wales examined how they felt about moving from primary to secondary school. About one-third of children worried quite or very much about the transition, while two-thirds looked forward to it. Main worries were about bullying and losing friendships, while children were excited about making new friends. Children from poorer backgrounds and those with emotional difficulties were significantly more likely to worry about the transition.
Key points
- About one-third of children reported being quite or very worried about transition to secondary school
- Approximately two-thirds reported looking forward to transition quite a bit or very much
- Many children both looked forward to and worried about transition simultaneously
- Major sources of worry centred on bullying and impact on existing friendships
- Children from poorer backgrounds and those with emotional difficulties were significantly more likely to worry about transition
Limitations
This is a cross-sectional survey capturing children's feelings at one point in time, so it cannot show how worries change after transition or identify causal relationships. The study measures associations between socioeconomic status and mental health difficulties with transition feelings, but cannot determine whether these factors directly cause the observed differences.
Abstract
Transition between primary and secondary school represents an important milestone in young people's development. While most young people look forward to this transition, it is a source of anxiety for many. Drawing on a nationally representative survey of 2218 children in 73 schools in Wales, this study aimed to understand the extent to which 10-11 year old children worried about and/or looked forward to their imminent transition to secondary school, the things they worried about and/or looked forward to, and how feelings about transition differed by socioeconomic status, as well as by emotional and behavioural difficulties. About a third of children reported being quite or very worried about transition to secondary school, while approximately two-thirds reported looking forward to it quite a bit or very much. These items were only moderately correlated, with many children both looking forward to and worrying about transition, or neither. Major sources of worry about transition centred around bullying and impact on existing friendships, while forming new friendships or joining existing friends in their new school were key things children looked forward to. Children from poorer backgrounds, attending poorer schools and reporting more emotional difficulties were significantly more likely to report worries about transition. Children from poorer families, and children reporting more emotional difficulties and behavioural difficulties, were less likely to look forward to transition. Interventions to support children in transition to secondary school need to be sensitive to the needs of children from poorer backgrounds and children with mental health difficulties.