Gender difference in wellbeing during school lessons among 10-12-year-old children: The importance of school subjects and student-teacher relationships

Aims: The aim of the study was to examine gender difference in self-reported wellbeing during school lessons among Icelandic 10-12-year-old boys and girls, in grades 5-7 in elementary schools. Also, to examine whether factors related to attitudes towards school subjects, student-teacher relationships and student-peer relationships mediated the associations between gender and wellbeing during school lessons. Methods: A cross-sectional anonymous survey was conducted among 88% (in total 11,387 participants) of all registered students aged 10-12 attending grades 5-7 in Iceland. Multivariate logistic regression was used to test main, mediation, and interaction effects. Results: Boys reported significantly less wellbeing during school lessons than girls. Not finding the subjects taught at school fun fully mediated the relationship between gender and self-reported wellbeing during school lessons. Furthermore, when not considering other school-related factors, finding the subjects at school to hard, not liking the teachers, not being praised by teachers, and being bullied in recess partially mediated the relationship between gender and self-reported wellbeing during school lessons. Conclusions: The results suggest that to improve boy's wellbeing during school lessons, making school subject more appealing to boys is of importance. Furthermore, fostering teacher-student relationships and decreasing bullying of boys in recess should be emphasised.