Abstract:

The present study investigated the structure of the relationships among perceived school connectedness, intensity of Facebook use, and school adaptation in case of Ukrainian refugee junior high school students. The study involved 153 adolescents (81 girls, 72 boys) who recently settled in Greece from war-torn Ukraine and attended junior high schools in different towns of northern Greece. Students completed a set of self-reported questionnaires, which included a scale on School Connectedness (School Connectedness Scale - SCS; Libbey, 2004; Resnick et al., 1997), a scale on Facebook Use (Facebook Intensity Use Scale; Ellison et al., 2007), as well as a scale on School Adaptation (Adjustment Scale of School Life - ASSL; Kim, 2003). According to the results, junior high school students performed a low sense of connectedness and adaptation at school context, making at the same time intense Facebook use. Furthermore, the path analysis results showed that students’ school connectedness directly and positively predicted their school adaptation, and especially their adaptation to teacher-student relationships, peer relationships, and school rules. Additionally, intensity of Facebook use seemed to negatively mediate the relationship between students’ school connectedness and their school adaptation. Also, students’ gender proved a statistically significant differentiator for their school adaptation, as girls reported higher adaptation to teacher-student relationships, peer relationships, instruction, and school rules, compared to boys. Considering the ongoing war situation in Ukraine, the findings highlight the need to implement urgent gender-based prevention actions to promote to youth refugees a psychological bond with the school and subsequently a multidimensional school adaptation. Finally, enhancing at the same time refugee adolescents’ prudent use of social media during these difficult times of transition could strengthen their bond between connectedness and adaptation at their school context.

Keywords:

Ukrainian refugee students, junior high schools, school connectedness, intensity of Facebook use, school adaptation.