Gender and Socioeconomic Perspectives on Students' Emotional Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic

TY - JOUR

T1 - Gender and Socioeconomic Perspectives on Students' Emotional Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic

AU - Christensen, Jacob Højgaard

PY - 2024/9/9

Y1 - 2024/9/9

N2 - This study examines emotional well-being variations among students (n = 13,398) across 5 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Secondary analysis is conducted using data from the Responses to Educational Disruption Survey (REDS), which focused on the pandemic experiences, including well-being, of 8th-grade students. The study constructs an emotional well-being scale employing bi-factor models and multidimensional item response theory, encompassing students’ concerns, loneliness, social isolation, and negative emotions. Cross-analyses with gender and socioeconomic status (SES) reveal significant between-group disparities, measured by Cohen’s d effect sizes. It uncovers gender gaps in emotional well-being, with girls consistently scoring lower in most countries. SES effects on emotional well-being vary among countries, with SES group distinctions generally smaller than gender disparities. Thus, gender appears to have played a more significant role than SES in relation to 8th-grade students' emotional well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

AB - This study examines emotional well-being variations among students (n = 13,398) across 5 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Secondary analysis is conducted using data from the Responses to Educational Disruption Survey (REDS), which focused on the pandemic experiences, including well-being, of 8th-grade students. The study constructs an emotional well-being scale employing bi-factor models and multidimensional item response theory, encompassing students’ concerns, loneliness, social isolation, and negative emotions. Cross-analyses with gender and socioeconomic status (SES) reveal significant between-group disparities, measured by Cohen’s d effect sizes. It uncovers gender gaps in emotional well-being, with girls consistently scoring lower in most countries. SES effects on emotional well-being vary among countries, with SES group distinctions generally smaller than gender disparities. Thus, gender appears to have played a more significant role than SES in relation to 8th-grade students' emotional well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

KW - COVID-19

KW - REDS

KW - Well-being

KW - education

KW - gender

KW - socioeconomic status

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85199381645

U2 - 10.1177/17454999241265966

DO - 10.1177/17454999241265966

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1745-4999

VL - 19

SP - 301

EP - 320

JO - Research in Comparative and International Education

JF - Research in Comparative and International Education

IS - 3

ER -