The Serial Multiple Mediator Role of Emotion Regulation and School Resilience Between Cognitive Flexibility and School Engagement

• Published in: Psychology in the schools Vol. 62; no. 9; pp. 3105 - 3118
• Main Authors: Çetinkaya, Ali, Haskan Avcı, Özlem
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.09.2025
• Subjects: Cognitive flexibility; emotion regulation; Emotional regulation; Emotions; Environmental aspects; Flexibility; High School Students; Learner Engagement; Medical personnel; Mental health professionals; Resilience; school engagement; School environment; school resilience; Secondary school students; Secondary schools; serial mediation
• ISSN: 0033-3085; 1520-6807
• DOI: 10.1002/pits.23526

ABSTRACT This study investigated the relationships between school resilience strength, cognitive flexibility, emotion regulation, and school engagement in high school students. A hypothetical model test was conducted for this purpose. This study was designed according to a predictive correlational model. Through convenience sampling, this study collected data from 456 (58.6% females; mean age = 16.04, SD = 1.154) high school students (studying in Ankara province. The school resilience scale, cognitive flexibility scale, emotional regulation scale for adolescents, and school engagement scale were used. The relationships between the variables were examined by testing the theoretical serial mediation model. The study showed that emotion regulation and school resilience had multiple serial mediating roles in cognitive flexibility and school engagement. Another finding was that cognitive flexibility predicts emotion regulation, emotion regulation predicts school resilience, and school resilience predicts school engagement. This study revealed that factors such as cognitive flexibility and emotional regulation affect high school students’ ability to recover at school and their school engagement regardless of the school climate. It also shows how emotion regulation and school resilience mediate the relationship between cognitive flexibility and school engagement. Mental health professionals such as school counselors and psychologists can focus on emotion regulation and cognitive flexibility to develop school resilience and school engagement in student clients. In addition, more studies can be conducted on the extent to which both individual factors and environmental factors such as school climate simultaneously affect school engagement. Summary Cognitive flexibility positively influences emotion regulation, which in turn enhances school resilience and ultimately leads to increased school engagement. Cognitive flexibility positively affects school engagement both directly and indirectly through the sequential mediation of emotion regulation and school resilience, respectively. Independent of school climate, individual factors such as students’ cognitive flexibility, emotion regulation skills, and school resilience have a significant impact on their school engagement.