Association between Life Skills and Academic Performance in Adolescents in the Autonomous Community of Aragon (Spain)

Beatriz Sánchez-Hernando, Raúl Juárez-Vela, Isabel Antón-Solanas, Ángel Gasch-Gallén, Pedro Melo, Tam H. Nguyen, José Ramón Martínez-Riera, Elisa Ferrer-Gracia and Vicente Gea-Caballero
Additional contact information
Beatriz Sánchez-Hernando: Centro de Salud Amparo Poch, Servicio Aragonés de Salud, C/Emilia Pardo Bazán, s/n, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
Raúl Juárez-Vela: Department of Nursing, University of La Rioja, Centro Investigación Biomédica de la Rioja CIBIR-GISOSS, C/ Duquesa Victoria 88, 26004 Logroño, Spain
Isabel Antón-Solanas: Grupo Enfermero de Investigación en Atención Primaria de Aragón (GIIS094-GENIAPA), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Aragón, Avda. San Juan Bosco 13, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Ángel Gasch-Gallén: Grupo Enfermero de Investigación en Atención Primaria de Aragón (GIIS094-GENIAPA), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Aragón, Avda. San Juan Bosco 13, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Pedro Melo: Institute of Health Sciences/School of Nursing (Porto)/Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Health, Universidade Catolica Portuguesa, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal
Tam H. Nguyen: William F. Connell School of Nursing, Boston College, Newton, MA 02467, USA
José Ramón Martínez-Riera: Departamento Enfermería Comunitaria, Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública e Historia de la Ciencia, University of Alicante, E-03080 Alicante, Spain
Elisa Ferrer-Gracia: Sección de Promoción de la Salud, Departamento de Sanidad, Dirección General de Salud Pública, Vía Universitas 36, 50017 Zaragoza, Spain
Vicente Gea-Caballero: Nursing School La Fe, adscript center of Universidad de Valencia, Research Group GREIACC, Health Research Institute La Fe, Avda. Fernando Abril Martorell 106, 46026 Valencia, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 8, 1-12

Abstract: Background: Learning and socio-emotional development is promoted through the creation and nurturing of an optimal school climate. This study aims to analyze the relationship between life skills and academic performance in a large sample of adolescents from the autonomous community of Aragón (Spain). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on the life skills and academic performance of a sample of 7th and 8th grade middle school students during the academic year 2018–2019. A sample of 43 middle schools were randomly selected; the final sample comprised 1745 students. The following data were collected through an anonymized, previously validated questionnaire: sociodemographic variables, social skills, self-efficacy, affective balance, and academic performance. Results: We found a statistically significant association between life skills and academic performance ( p < 0.001) in our sample. We also observed significant gender differences in life skills, with boys obtaining higher scores in cognitive skills and affective balance, and with girls achieving higher scores in social skills. Conclusion: We argue that life skills should be integrated into educational policies in order to improve the academic performance and health outcomes of students.

Keywords: social skills; self-efficacy; emotions; academic performance; adolescents; health promotion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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