School moves, coping and achievement: models of possible interactions

Abstract

A sample of 1,050 regional Australian secondary students participated in a study investigating the relationship between mobility and academic achievement. Measures of mobility, academic achievement, suspensions, coping strategies, parental education, and family structure were used to test the hypothesis that academic coping strategies interact with mobility to negatively predict behavioral problems and academic achievement or, alternatively, to support academic achievement in mobile students. Analyses applied to a theoretical model indicated that positive coping strategies protect students from behavioral problems and lower academic achievement linked to mobility. The model accounted for 53% of the variance in achievement. Possible explanations for prior inconsistent findings are suggested.