Academic Anxiety and Emotional Regulation Among Students Experienced School Change

Adolescence is a sensitive developmental stage marked by rapid physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional changes. School transitions during this period often heighten vulnerability by disrupting established routines, academic familiarity, and peer relationships. New curricula, unfamiliar teaching styles, and the challenge of building new social connections can increase academic anxiety and make emotional regulation (ER) more difficult. These stressors, compounded by pubertal changes, heightened family expectations, and the influence of social media, may amplify emotional volatility and negatively affect students' overall well-being. Understanding how adolescents adapt emotionally and academically during school changes is critical for designing supportive interventions.

This study aimed to assess the levels of academic anxiety and ER among adolescents who had recently changed schools and to explore possible gender differences and relationships between ER components and academic anxiety.

A cross-sectional, quantitative design was employed with a purposive sample of 120 adolescents (60 boys and 60 girls) aged 14-16 from the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi, India. Participants had changed schools in either the 9th or 11th grade. Standardised self-report measures were administered to assess academic anxiety and ER, including its sub-domains of cognitive reappraisal (CR) and expressive suppression (ES). Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, version 16.0). Independent-sample t-tests were conducted to examine gender differences, and Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated to evaluate relationships between study variables.

Findings indicated low but statistically significant gender differences and low significant correlations between boys and girls in overall ER, CR, ES, and academic anxiety. A strong positive correlation emerged between ER and ES.

Adolescents of both genders face similar ER and academic anxiety challenges following school transitions. These results highlight the importance of early, targeted interventions to support emotional well-being and academic adjustment during this vulnerable period.