Daily relationships between elementary school students’ perceived teacher/peer support and school behaviors: the mediating role of negative emotions and the moderating role of mindfulness

In environments characterized by intense academic demands and competition, elementary school students frequently experience negative emotions and exhibit poor school performance. This study investigates the role of teacher and peer support as crucial elements of social support and their protective impact on students’ psychological well-being. Despite limited teacher resources and widespread peer conflict that may not allow most students to perceive high level of support, only a minority exhibit poor school-based behaviors such as disciplinary infractions, academic procrastination, and in-class distractions. This resilience might be attributed to the buffering effect of mindfulness, which can mitigate the adverse impacts of negative emotions on school-based behaviors. This research examines the relationship between daily perceived teacher and peer support and students’ school performance, exploring the mediating role of negative emotions, and testing the moderating effect of trait mindfulness within the mediation model. The study recruited 178 students (39.89 % female) from grades 3–6 in an elementary school. Trait mindfulness was measured at baseline, followed by a 10-day consecutive daily diary stage to measure levels of perceived teacher/peer support, negative emotions, and maladaptive school-based behaviors—the latter reported by teachers. Results show that negative emotions mediated the relationship between perceived teacher support and both disciplinary infractions (indirect effect = −0.037, 95 % CI = [−0.062, −0.014]), and in-class distractions (indirect effect = -0.037, 95 % CI = [−0.060, −0.014]), respectively, and between perceived peer support and both disciplinary infractions (indirect effect = −0.031, 95 % CI = [−0.050, −0.014]), and in-class distractions (indirect effect = −0.028, 95 % CI = [−0.047, −0.012]) respectively. Furthermore, mindfulness was found to moderate the impact of negative emotions on disciplinary infractions, influenced by both types of social support. The present research emphasizes the significant role of teacher support in enhancing school-based behaviors through the reduction of negative emotions and underscores the critical buffering role of mindfulness in managing disciplinary infractions.