Journal of Adolescent Health 54 (2014) 543e549

www.jahonline.org

Original article

How Does Support From Peers Compare With Support From Adults as Students
Transition to Secondary School?
Stacey Waters, Ph.D. *, Leanne Lester, Ph.D., and Donna Cross, Ed.D.
Child Health Promotion Research Centre, Edith Cowan University, Mount Lawley, Western Australia, Australia

Article history: Received September 3, 2013; Accepted October 17, 2013

Keywords: School connectedness; Transition; Peers; Family

A B S T R A C T
IMPLICATIONS AND
CONTRIBUTION
Purpose: Understanding how young people navigate the transition from primary to secondary
school is critical for preventing the adverse mental health, social, and academic outcomes asso-
This paper examines the
ciated with a difficult transition. This study sought to determine from whom young people receive sources of support adoles-
support before the transition period to help inform the development of future intervention cents receive from peers,
research testing, as well as peer, school, and family-based supports during transition. school, and families in
Methods: Data were collected from 1,974 primary school students prior to the transition and again primary school and their
in Term 1 of the first year of secondary school. Students were asked about their expectation of the impact on transition.
transition as well as their support from peers, family, and the school. Just over half (52%) of the Future interventions to
sample were females with a mean age of 12 years. support young people’s
Results: Peer, school, and family supports all predicted positive student transition experiences. transition should begin in
When in Grade 7 and considering all predictors together, a high level of perceived peer support primary school and build
was the most significant predictor of an expectation of an easy or somewhat easy transition. In positive peer relationships
Grade 8, again after considering all sources of support, parental presence was the most significant while empowering parents
protective predictor of an easy or somewhat easy transition experience. to support their adolescent
Conclusions: Students who expect and experience a positive transition to secondary school are through the transition.
generally well-supported by their peers, school, and family. The most stable influence for young
people over the transition period is the presence of families before and after school and future
intervention efforts to support young people during transition need to build support from families.
Ó 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. All rights reserved.

There remains a lot to be learned about how young people
make successful transitions from primary to secondary school
and how they are supported during this time. Does the “here and
now” of peers provide the greatest support for students before
and after transition, or do the connections with teachers and the
school as a whole predict successful secondary school transition?
And what role do parents have in helping and supporting their
children through this important time? In this period of great
physical, social, and emotional development for adolescents, the
* Address correspondence to: Stacey Waters, Ph.D., Child Health Promotion
Research Centre, Edith Cowan University, 2 Bradford Street, Mount Lawley,
Western Australia 6050, Australia.
E-mail address: s.waters@ecu.edu.au (S. Waters).
change in school and friendship groups adds another layer of
complexity. To aid future interventions, this paper seeks to
explore the role of teachers, peers, families, and school in pre-
paring and supporting young people through the transition to
secondary school.
The literature clearly articulates the negative outcomes for
young people who experience a poor transition to secondary
school. These students are more likely to report emotional
problems, feelings of depression and anxiety, and greater use of
antisocial behaviors [1e8]. Limited international longitudinal
evidence suggests some of these emotional health problems
continue beyond the initial transition period, including elevated
levels of depression, anxiety, and poorer well-being [6,7].
Our recently reported 1-year prospective study involving 1,500

1054-139X/$ e see front matter Ó 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.10.012
544 S. Waters et al. / Journal of Adolescent Health 54 (2014) 543e549
Australian Grade 8 secondary school students found that 31% of
students in the sample experienced a “difficult” or “somewhat
difficult” transition to their new school [8]. This third of the
student sample were more likely to experience poorer social and
emotional health, including higher levels of depression and
anxiety at the end of their first year of secondary school.
The problems relating to transition from primary to secondary
school are not new and are linked to two main factors, the change
in school context and with that, the change in friendships. In
Western Australia the transition from primary (Grade 7, age 12
years) to secondary school (Grade 8, age 13 years) signifies a
considerable period of social and environmental change. The
primary school setting is characterized by smaller class sizes
where 25e30 students are taught by one classroom teacher. In
contrast, Australian secondary schools have larger student
cohorts and employ specialist teaching staff who teach 25e30
students for between 30 and 80 minutes before the students move
to their next class. These differences in school structure require
adolescents to adjust to significant changes in the learning envi-
ronment, contributing to concerns and anxiety during transition
as well as in anticipating transition [9].
In this paper, we conceptualized support for students at two
levels, adapting Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological model [10]: the
micro-system and meso-system. First, we examined support
students received from their immediate micro-system, which
includes their interactions with family, peers, and teachers.
Second, students’ meso-systems, as expressed by their connec-
tion to school, were explored.
Connection to family
The home environment plays a significant role in shaping
adolescent health [11]. In one of the largest cross-sectional
studies of adolescents [12], high levels of family connectedness
was found to be the most consistent protective factor for reduced
involvement in problem behaviors as well as improved
emotional health [11]. More specifically, family communication
and the quality of an adolescent’s relationship with his or her
parents had a positive effect in decreasing problem behaviors
and substance use, delinquency, and depression [13]. Moreover,
recent Australian data highlighted the combined role of parental
attachment and connection to school on the development of
adolescent depressive symptoms [14].
Connection to peers
Developmentally, adolescents shift from a reliance on parents to
a reliance on peers with peer support needed for the development
of social, emotional, and mental health [15,16]. Consequently,
negative peer interaction can have a harmful effect on physical,
mental, and social health [17e20]. The transition from primary to
secondary school is marked not only by a change in context but by a
change in friendship groups as well. As a result the transition period
can be characterized by increased feelings of isolation as friendship
groups change and adolescents develop new friendships and lose
friends. This also occurs at a time when students experience
increasing pressure to attain high social status [21].
Connection to teachers
The extent to which young people feel connected to and sup-
ported by their teachers is also a powerful predictor of their health
and academic outcomes. Young people’s connection to their
teachers predicts positive social and emotional health outcomes
such as better peer relationships, academic success, and reduced
participation in health-risk behaviors [12]. Connectedness to
teachers can also provide a buffer for negative connections to
peers as well as the prevention of health-risk behaviors [22].
Connection to school
School connectedness refers to the extent to which young
people feel as though they belong at school [23] and remains one
of the most important predictors of adolescent health, social, and
academic outcomes [24]. School connectedness is associated
with fewer problem behaviors [11,25,26], more interest in school
[27], greater academic achievement [28e30], more likelihood of
staying at school longer [12,25,30], and less likelihood of truancy
from school [27]. Those students who are highly connected to
school are also less likely to experience depressive or anxious
symptoms [11,12,28,31] and are less likely to be at risk for suicide
[11]. These highly connected students are also more physically
active and safety conscious [26]. Students with higher levels of
school connectedness in primary school have better long-term
health and educational outcomes, academic achievement, and
social competence [32], and reduced likelihood of tobacco,
alcohol, or other harmful drug use, criminal involvement, gang
membership, and school dropout [32].
The specific research questions for this study are: (1) Do
school connectedness, teacher connectedness, parent connect-
edness, and peer support in Grade 7 predict students’ expecta-
tions of transition in Grade 7?; (2) Which of these four supports
have the greatest impact on students’ transition expectations in
Grade 7?; (3) Do school connectedness, teacher connectedness,
parent-family connectedness, and peer support in Grade 7 pre-
dict a students’ transition experience in Grade 8?; and (4) Which
supports have the greatest impact on students’ transition expe-
rience in Grade 8?
Method
Study design
The data used in this paper were drawn from the Supportive
Schools Project, a 3-year randomized cluster intervention com-
parison trial (2006 to 2008) testing the impact of a whole-school
intervention, including curriculum, on students’ experiences of
bullying in a random sample of Catholic secondary schools. In
Western Australia students currently transition from primary
school at the end of Grade 7 when they are 12 years old and
commence secondary school in Grade 8, the year they turn 13
years old. Approval for this study was provided by Edith Cowan
University’s Human Research Ethics Committee and the Catholic
Education Office of Western Australia.
Sample selection and recruitment
All Western Australian secondary Catholic Education Office
schools located in the metropolitan area of Perth, Western
Australia were invited to participate in this research. Of the 28
eligible Catholic Education Office schools, 20 agreed to partici-
pate in the study. After being recruited, schools were stratified
according to total population size of the school (above and below
the median school size of 811 students) and the school’s
 S. Waters et al. / Journal of Adolescent Health 54 (2014) 543e549 545

socioeconomic status (SES) (above and below the “SES Index Table 1
Modified” median score of 100) and allocated to four strata and Description of sample

randomly assigned to the intervention or comparison condition. Intervention Control Total

End of Grade 7
Participation Males 517 486 1,003
Females 506 568 1,074
Total 1,023 1,054 2,077
Each secondary school recruited into the Supportive Schools
Beginning of Grade 8
Project was asked for a list of students enrolled to attend in 2006 Males 828 847 1,675
as Grade 8 students. Parents of these students were sent a letter Females 743 896 1,639
seeking consent for their child to participate in the study while Total 1,571 1,743 3,314
they were in Grade 7 at primary school and again in Grades 8 and Students at both time points
Males 489 461 950
9 at the participating secondary schools. In Term 1 of the first
Females 478 546 1,024
year of secondary school (when students were in Grade 8), 3,382 Total 967 1,007 1,974
(1,572 intervention; 1,745 comparison) 12- to 13-year-old
students were present across each of the study schools. A com-
bination of active (opt-in) and passive (opt-out) parental consent School connectedness. The connectedness to school scale
was used to recruit students [33]. Three weeks after the first comprised 4 items adapted from the 6-item School Connected-
active consent letter was sent to parents, a second letter ness Scale [11] (I feel close to people at school; I feel like I am part
was mailed seeking active consent, following which all non- of this school; I am happy to be at school; the teachers treat
responding parents received a final letter seeking passive con- students fairly) measured on a 5-point scale (1 ¼ never; 2 ¼
sent for their child’s participation (Table 1). unsure; 3 ¼ sometimes; 4 ¼ usually; 5 ¼ always). The unidi-
A questionnaire was mailed to the homes of the Grade 7 mensionality of the adapted scale was confirmed in a factor
students with parental consent for students’ to complete in their analysis (CFI > .9, SMR < .10). For each student an average score
own time and return to the research team via a reply-paid en- was calculated, with a higher score reflecting greater feelings of
velope. Grade 8 students completed their questionnaires in class connectedness to their school (a ¼ .79).
with the assistance of trained university staff who used a strict
procedural and verbal protocol. Confidentiality of Grade 8 re- Teacher connectedness. The teacher connectedness scale was
spondents was maintained by the use of identification numbers drawn from the 6-item Teacher Connectedness Scale [11] assessing
and teachers were asked not to look at students’ responses. whether a teacher cares about them and notices when they are not
there, measured on a 5-point scale (1 ¼ unsure, 2 ¼ never, 3 ¼ some
Measures of the time, 4 ¼ Most of the time, 5 ¼ all of the time). The unidi-
mensionality of the adapted scale was confirmed in a factor analysis
The dependent variables used in this study were transition (CFI > .9, SMR < .10). For each student an average score was
expectation in Grade 7 and transition experience in Grade 8. calculated, with a higher score reflecting greater feelings of
Independent variables were students’ connectedness to peers, connectedness to their teacher (average a ¼ .81).
teachers, school, and parents and family.
Parent and family connectedness. Parent and family connected-
Transition expectation. Students were asked to rate their expec- ness comprised three subscales [11] which can be described as
tation of transition from primary to secondary school based on a closeness, presence, and listens. The closeness subscale com-
question from Akos and Martin [34], “How do you think the move prises 7 items relating to adolescents’ relationship and commu-
from primary to high school will be for you?”. Responses were nication with parents, the presence subscale comprises 4 items
collected on a 5-point scale (1 ¼ difficult; 2 ¼ somewhat difficult; representing a parent or adult’s presence before or after school,
3 ¼ somewhat easy; 4 ¼ easy; 5 ¼ don’t know) (Table 2). at dinner time and in the evening after dinner, and the listens
subscale comprises 2 items pertaining to listening to problems
Transition experience. Students were asked to rate their transition and opinions. The unidimensionality of the subscales were
experience from primary to secondary school [34] (How was the confirmed in a factor analysis (all CFI > .9, SMR < .10). For each
move from primary school for you?). Responses were collected on student an average parent and family closeness (a ¼ .82) pres-
a 5-point scale (1 ¼ difficult; 2 ¼ somewhat difficult; 3 ¼ some- ence (a ¼ .67), and listens (a ¼ .92) score was calculated, with a
what easy; 4 ¼ easy; 5 ¼ don’t know). This measure represents higher score reflecting greater feelings of connectedness to their
students’ feelings regarding the transition in Term 1 of the first parents and family.
year of secondary school and as such is an immediate measure of
their transition experience (Table 2). Statistical analysis

Peer support. The peer support at school scale (adapted from the
24-item Perceptions of Peer Social Support Scale [35]) comprised
11 items measuring peer acceptance, support, and communication.
Items were measured on a 3-point scale (1 ¼ never; 2 ¼ sometimes;
3 ¼ lots of times). A factor analysis performed on the adapted peer
support scale confirmed its unidimensionality (CFI > .9, SMR < .10).
A peer support score at each time point was calculated for each
student by averaging all items, higher scores reflecting greater
feelings of peer support (a ¼ .83).
Analyses were conducted using STATA v10 (StataCorp, College
Station, TX) and SPSS v21 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Separate
multinomial regression models were used to determine whether
peer support, school connectedness, teacher connectedness, and
parent and family connectedness were predictors of transition
expectation and experience, controlling for gender. All predictors
were placed in one multinomial regression model to determine
the strength of the predictors of transition expectation and
experience relative to each other.
546 S. Waters et al. / Journal of Adolescent Health 54 (2014) 543e549

Table 2 closeness (easy transition OR ¼ 2.0), or greater parent and family

Transition expectation and experience by gender as a percentage of the sample presence (somewhat easy transition OR ¼ 1.9) have increased
Male Female Total odds of experiencing an easy or somewhat easy rather than
(n ¼ 480) (n ¼ 552) (n ¼ 1,032) difficult transition (Table 5).
Transition expectationa When all predictors were placed in the one multinomial
Difficult 10.6 10.9 10.8 regression model, parental presence was the only significant
Somewhat difficult 19.2 22.3 20.8
predictor of an easy or somewhat easy transition experience in
Somewhat easy 28.8 24.5 26.5
Easy 20.2 16.8 18.4
Grade 8 (Table 5). Students reporting greater parental closeness
Don’t know 21.3 25.5 23.5 had significantly increased odds of experiencing an easy (OR ¼
Transition experienceb 2.3) transition rather than a difficult one. Those with greater
Difficult 7.1 10.2 9.7 parental presence had significantly increased odds of experi-
Somewhat difficult 12.7 19.1 16.0
encing an easy (OR ¼ 2.0) or somewhat easy (OR ¼ 2.1) transition
Somewhat easy 19.1 21.1 20.2
Easy 53.7 43.5 48.4 rather than a difficult one.
Don’t know 7.4 6.1 6.7
a
X2 ¼ 6.585, p ¼ .160.
Discussion
b
X2 ¼ 25.576, p < .001.
Our study sought to determine the most salient sources of
support as predictors of students’ expectations (Grade 7) and
Results experience (Grade 8) of the transition to secondary school. Using
the ecological framework we hypothesized that support from
On average, students at the end of Grade 7 felt they were peers, connectedness to teachers and the school as well as
supported by their peers, were well-connected to their school, parental support in Grade 7 would predict positive expectations
teacher, and parents and family (Table 3). Females reported and experience of the transition process. Higher levels of all
significantly greater peer support (p < .001), greater connect- types of support to young people in Grade 7 in our sample pre-
edness to school (p ¼ .019), and greater connectedness to dicted their positive expectations of the transition as well as a
teachers (p ¼ .002) than males. There were no significant dif- positive transition experience. When considered together, peer
ferences between males and females with respect to parent and support was the most powerful predictor of students’ positive
family connectedness (closeness: p ¼ .735; presence: p ¼ .361; transition expectations in Grade 7 while parental presence in
listens: p ¼ .502). Grade 7 was most predictive of a positive transition experience.
Students with greater peer support (easy transition OR ¼ 13.2; Much of the literature describes the correlates or outcomes of
somewhat easy transition OR ¼ 7.4), greater school connectedness a negative transition experience. Our study contributes a new
(easy transition OR ¼ 2.7; somewhat easy transition OR ¼ 1.9), perspective on transition: using longitudinal data to examine the
teacher connectedness (easy transition OR ¼ 1.7; somewhat easy supports available to young people in primary school that lay the
transition OR ¼ 1.5), greater parent and family closeness (easy foundation for positive expectations and experiences of the
transition OR ¼ 2.9; somewhat easy transition OR ¼ 2.0), greater transition to secondary school. These findings complement
parent and family presence (easy transition OR ¼ 1.7), or students recent studies describing the important role of peer, teacher, and
who had parent and family listening (easy transition OR ¼ 1.5) school connectedness as powerful predictors of students’
have increased odds of expecting transition to be easy or some- improved social and emotional health [11,12,24,26,31] and sug-
what easy rather than difficult (Table 4). gest these supports in primary school have a protective influence
When all predictors were placed in the one multinomial before and at the time of transitioning to secondary school.
regression model, peer support was the only significant predictor Although all levels of support were predictive of students’
of an expectation of an easy or somewhat transition (Table 4). expectations and experience of transition, when considered
Those with greater peer support had significantly increased odds together two very different types of support became the single
of expecting transition to be easy (OR ¼ 8.9) or somewhat easy significant predictors of the expectation and experience inde-
(OR ¼ 6.6) than difficult. pendently. First, higher levels of perceived support from students
Students with greater peer support (easy transition OR ¼ 2.9), were most predictive of students’ expectations (Grade 7) of the
greater school connectedness (easy transition OR ¼ 1.8; some- impending transition. Therefore, although teacher and school
what easy transition OR ¼ 1.8), greater parent and family connectedness and parental support are important, peers are the
most influential before the transition in helping to set positive
Table 3
expectations of the move to secondary school. Consistent with
Sample characteristics at end of Grade 7 this finding is the literature suggesting young people rely on
their peers for support as they enter adolescence [36]. Moreover,
Male Female Total
this finding suggests the friendships young people create over
Mean (SD) Mean (SD) Mean (SD)
many years in primary school are on the whole, a very positive
*
Peer support 2.50 (.35) 2.65 (.30) 2.58 (.33) source of social support. On the other hand, it is the potential
School connectedness* 3.37 (.60) 3.45 (.58) 3.41 (.59) unsettling of these friendship groups that garners some of the
Teacher connectedness** 4.01 (.85) 4.17 (.77) 4.10 (.81)
Parent-family connectedness
fears young people have in moving to a new school context [9].
Closeness 4.27 (.35) 4.26 (.34) 4.27 (.34) Conversely, parental presence in Grade 7 (at home before and
Presence 4.69 (.48) 4.72 (.47) 4.71 (.48) after school and at meal times) was the most significant predictor
Listens 4.57 (.80) 4.60 (.72) 4.59 (.76) of students actual transition experience in Grade 8. This lends
* p < .05. itself to the argument that although peers are important in the
** p < .01. “here and now,” parental presence and the implied support this
 S. Waters et al. / Journal of Adolescent Health 54 (2014) 543e549 547

Table 4
Multinomial logistic regression predictors of transition expectation

Transition expectation Model 1a Model 2b

OR 95% CI p OR 95% CI p

Easyd
Peer supportc 13.24 (6.13, 28.60) <.001** 8.90 (3.65, 21.68) <.001**
School connectedness 2.73 (1.81, 4.11) <.001** 1.22 (.72, 2.07) .470
Teacher connectedness 1.73 (1.29, 2.32) <.001** 1.15 (.91, 1.63) .445
Parent-family connectedness
Closeness 2.85 (1.44, 5.66) .003** 1.55 (.69, 3.47) .288
Presence 1.67 (1.02, 2.75) .041* 1.07 (.61, 1.87) .816
Listens 1.51 (1.06, 2.14) .022* 1.13 (.75, 1.70) .557
Somewhat easyd
Peer supportc 7.42 (3.79, 14.52) <.001** 6.58 (3, 14.53) <.001**
School connectedness 1.89 (1.33, 2.69) <.001** .96 (.60, 1.54) .855
Teacher connectedness 1.46 (1.12, 1.90) .005** 1.12 (.81, 1.54) .494
Parent-family connectedness
Closeness 1.98 (1.09, 3.60) .025* 1.43 (.69, 2.94) .334
Presence 1.39 (.89, 2.15) .144 1.04 (.63, 1.73) .869
Listens 1.17 (.88, 1.57) .277 .99 (.69, 1.42) .957
Somewhat difficult
Peer support 2.53 (1.33, 4.81) .005** 2.17 (1.01, 4.65) .047*
School connectedness 1.48 (1.03, 2.12) .032* 1.12 (.69, 1.82) .637
Teacher connectedness 1.19 (.91, 1.55) .214 1.05 (.76, 1.45) .780
Parent-family connectedness
Closeness 1.24 (.69, 2.24) .475 1.34 (.65, 2.77) .423
Presence 1.02 (.66, 1.57) .944 .90 (.55, 1.49) .684
Listens .89 (.67, 1.18) .422 .78 (.55, 1.11) .175
Don’t know
Peer support 3.35 (1.76, 6.36) <.001** 3.26 (1.52, 6.99) .002**
School connectedness 1.53 (1.07, 2.17) .018 1.01 (.63, 1.62) .967
Teacher connectedness 1.18 (.94, 1.55) .214 .97 (.71, 1.34) .872
Parent-family connectedness
Closeness 1.64 (.90, 2.99) .104 1.52 (.74, 3.14) .257
Presence 1.37 (.88, 2.15) .165 1.19 (.71, 1.98) .509
Listens .99 (.75, 1.31) .953 .83 (.58, 1.18) .294
a
Model 1 e all predictors entered into separate models.
b
Model 2 e all predictors entered into one model.
c
Gender a significant predictor in Model 1.
d
Gender a significant predictor in Model 2.
* p < .05.
** p < .01.

offers to young people, has longer lasting effects on their aca-
demic transition than does the support from peers. This finding
replicates research that describes the important and long-lasting
effects of positive parenting on adolescent health and well-being
[37] and progress in the first year of secondary school [38].
This study also highlights the importance of the primary
school context in preparing young people for the transition to
secondary school. In particular, those students who felt con-
nected to their school and teachers in primary school were more
likely to expect and experience a positive transition. Therefore,
the strategies young people develop and practice in primary
school to help them feel as though they belong are able to be
transferred more readily to a new school, than for students who
struggle with this level of connection in primary school.
This study generates many implications for future research
and practice and complements recommendations from other re-
views [38]. First, primary school appears to be an important time
to establish quality connections (to peers, teachers, and the
school), which can help create positive transition expectations
and experiences for young people given that the support received
in primary school remained protective into the first year of sec-
ondary school. Second, peers have a powerful role in providing
support for one another before the transition. This is especially
important for those students who are transitioning with a cohort
of friends and suggests that attempts to introduce students in
Grade 7 to their new secondary school classmates may help to
establish positive expectations and enhance the actual transition
experience. Third, parents remain an important support for young
people as they transition. Active communication between the
primary and secondary schools before and after the transition
may empower parents to become more engaged in supporting
their children through this time of change.
There remain several limitations to this study. Our data were
drawn from Catholic schools in Western Australia that are likely
to have invested in transition activities around the time of our
data collection. Therefore, these results may be confounded by
the strategies already in place and are, therefore, not generaliz-
able to other school sectors. The measures of support we used in
this study are only a selection of those available in the published
literature. The findings of this formative study, however, suggest
that new research should focus on the positive aspects of support
provided prior to the transition to secondary school to capture a
more broad perspective of the transition to secondary school.
Moreover, the dependent variable is a single item measure of
548 S. Waters et al. / Journal of Adolescent Health 54 (2014) 543e549

Table 5
Multinomial logistic regression predictors of transition experience

Transition experience Model 1a Model 2b

OR 95% CI p OR 95% CI p

Easyd
Peer supportc 2.88 (1.46, 4.68) .002** 2.19 (.98, 4.92) .056
School connectednessc 1.77 (1.22, 2.56) .003** 1.43 (.88, 2.34) .149
Teacher connectednessc 1.17 (.89, 1.56) .262 .88 (.62, 1.24) .449
Parent-family connectedness
Closeness 1.97 (1.03, 3.79) .041* 1.78 (.80, 3.98) .158
Presence .94 (.53, 1.68) .838 2 (1.24, 3.24) .005**
Listens .87 (.59, 1.28) .488 .55 (.33, 10.92) .023*
Somewhat easyd
Peer support 2.02 (.97, 4.23) .062 1.55 (.64, 3.74) .327
School connectedness 1.82 (1.21, 2.76) .004** 1.79 (1.04, 3.07) .036*
Teacher connectedness 1.09 (.80, 1.48) .579 .81 (.56, 1.17) .264
Parent-family connectedness
Closeness 1.31 (.65, 2.63) .445 1.17 (.50, 2.74) .715
Presence 1.90 (1.17, 3.09) .009** 2.05 (1.20, 3.51) .009**
Listens 1.02 (.53, 1.19) .271 .55 (.32, 10.93) .027*
Somewhat difficult
Peer support 1.35 (.64, 2.85) .428 1.31 (.54, 3.20) .548
School connectedness 1.29 (.86, 1.95) .220 1.41 (.82, 2.42) .218
Teacher connectedness .94 (.69, 1.29) .716 .80 (.55, 1.17) .254
Parent-family connectedness
Closeness .97 (.48, 1.95) .937 1.12 (.47, 2.64) .802
Presence 1.32 (.83, 2.10) .247 1.60 (.95, 2.71) .079
Listens .72 (.48, 1.09) .118 .55 (.32, .94) .030*
Don’t know
Peer support 1.29 (.48, 3.44) .608 2.88 (.84, 9.88) .092
School connectedness .67 (.40, 1.10) .110 .57 (.28, 1.17) .127
Teacher connectedness .82 (.55, 1.22) .321 .96 (.58, 1.59) .882
Parent-family connectedness
Closeness .79 (.33, 1.88) .588 1.67 (.54, 5.14) .368
Presence 1.51 (1.13, 2.02) .006** 1.31 (.66, 2.57) .439
Listens .53 (.34, .83) .005** .39 (.22, .70) .002**

Separate models have been used for predictors.

a
Model 1 e all predictors entered into separate models.
b
Model 2 e all predictors entered into one model.
c
Gender a significant predictor in Model 1.
d
Gender a significant predictor in Model 2.
* p < .05.
** p < .01.

students’ expectation and/or experience of transition and may References

sufficiently capture a broad perspective of the transition.
The consequences of experiencing a difficult transition are
well-documented. This study has highlighted the important role
of support from peers and parents as well as feelings of
connection in primary school in predicting the actual transition
experience. Although the study’s findings are limited to our
sample of Catholic-school students and only a few of the sup-
ports available to young people as they transition, our findings
remain an important contribution. In particular, the study’s
findings suggest that transition programs need to commence
early in primary school and should involve parents, peers, and
teachers to provide positive supports for young people as they
make the transition. Recommendations for future research and
practice include strengthening these supports from peers and
teachers as well as encouraging students to build effective con-
nections with staff and the school while in primary school to
ameliorate disconnection when transitioning to secondary
school. Future intervention trials should focus on determining
the most salient strategies for parents, teachers, and peers in
promoting positive perceptions of the transition to secondary
school.
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