The impact of core self-evaluation on school adaptation of high school students after their return to school during the COVID-19 pandemic: the parallel mediation of positive and negative coping styles

BACKGROUND: To explore the direct effect of core self-evaluation and the indirect effects of positive and negative coping styles on school adaptation of high school students after their return to school during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: The Core Self-Evaluation Scale, Simple Coping Style Scale, and School Adaptation Questionnaire were used for the psychometric analysis of 500 high school students (229 males and 271 females) one month after their return to school. The bootstrap method was applied for mediation analysis. RESULTS: A positive correlation was noted between core self-evaluation and school adaptation (r = 0.56), and the predictive effect was significant (β = 0.43). Core self-evaluation positively predicted positive coping styles, which positively predicted school adaptation, while core self-evaluation negatively predicted negative coping styles, which negatively predicted school adaptation. Positive and negative coping styles played a significant mediating role between core self-evaluation and school adaptation. The mediating effect included the indirect effects generated by two pathways: core self-evaluation → positive coping style → school adaptation (95% CI [0.08–0.19]) and core self-evaluation → negative coping style → school adaptation (95% CI [0.03–0.11]). CONCLUSION: There is a positive association between the core self-evaluation and school adaptation of high school students after their return to school during the COVID-19 pandemic. It may directly or indirectly affect the school adaptation of high school students after their return to school through positive or negative coping styles. After returning to school, educators should guide students to view themselves positively, cultivate healthy core self-evaluation, and enable them to have good school adaptation.