How Do Sex and Family SES Influence the Relation Between School Well-Being and Academic Domains? A Multi-Group Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis from Fifth To Eighth Grade.

Although the association between academic achievement and well-being has been widely studied in cross-sectional and correlational studies, prior research has rarely clarified the directionality of these links by adopting a longitudinal design or tested whether they vary across academic domains, sex, and socioeconomic status (SES). Filling this gap is particularly important for designing interventions that reduce social inequalities while fostering both learning and well-being. Leveraging a nationally representative sample of 14,513 French students assessed in fifth (Mage = 10.50, SD = 0.30; 49.6% girls) and eighth grade, we applied cross-lagged panel models to examine reciprocal relations between subjective school well-being, numeracy, and literacy. Results revealed a striking asymmetry: subjective school well-being did not predict later achievement, whereas achievement predicted subsequent subjective school well-being in divergent ways—higher numeracy in Grade 5 fostered greater subjective school well-being in Grade 8, while higher literacy predicted lower subjective school well-being. These patterns were concentrated among girls and low-SES students, with no longitudinal effects detected for boys or middle-SES groups. By demonstrating that the interplay between achievement and subjective school well-being is asymmetric, domain-specific, and socially stratified, this study challenges the assumption of uniform bidirectionality and identifies critical leverage points for policies aiming to promote academic success and improve the well-being of students.