Core self-evaluation and school disengagement in early adolescence: a three-wave longitudinal network analysis

School disengagement during early adolescence is a persistent concern associated with a range of adverse academic and psychological outcomes. Although core self-evaluations (CSE) have been identified as an important protective factor, prior research has mainly relied on variable-centered approaches and provides limited insight into fine-grained associations and their temporal dynamics. To address this gap, the present study adopted a three-wave longitudinal design among junior high school students in China (N = 896) and applied psychological network analysis to examine item-level associations between CSE and school disengagement across three time points. Network models were estimated separately at each wave, and network comparison tests were conducted to examine structural and global connectivity changes over time. Results indicated that the overall network structure remained largely stable across the three waves. CSE items were consistently negatively associated with cognitive, behavioral, and emotional disengagement, while disengagement components showed strong within-domain associations across time points. Cognitive disengagement consistently emerged as a central node within the networks, whereas emotional disengagement showed increased centrality at later waves. Longitudinal comparisons further suggested only modest changes in global connectivity and node-level influence. Overall, the findings suggest that CSE and school disengagement are characterized by relatively stable patterns of associations across early adolescence, extending previous research by providing a fine-grained network perspective on their interrelations and offering implications for targeting key disengagement components and supporting self-evaluative resources in interventions.