Exploring the Transition Pattern and Influential Factors of Elementary School Students' Adaptation Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic Using Latent Transition Analysis

Objectives This study examined how the latent group of elementary school students' school adaptation is classified before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, what variables affect the classification and transition of the potential latent group. Methods Latent Transition Analysis based on three-step approach was conducted to analysis changes of 1,203 students between 12th and 13th of the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey. Results First, before the COVID-19 pandemic period, the potential latent group for school adaptation in the 5th grade of elementary school was divided into two groups: ‘average adaptation’ and ‘high adaptation’. The potential latent group for school adaptation in the 6th grade of elementary school was divided into three groups: ‘average adaptation’, ‘low adaptation’, and ‘high adaptation’ after the COVID-19 pandemic period. Second, students who were in 5th grade in ‘average adaptation’ group has 76.4% probability of being transferred to the potential latent group in ‘average adaptation’ in 6th grade. Students who were in 5th grade in ‘high adaptation’ group also has 61.3% probability of being transferred to the potential latent group in ‘high adaptation’ in 6th grade. Third, creative environmental environment, parental attachment, and self-resilience have influence on classification of the potential latent group for school adaptation in the 5th grade of elementary school before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic, only creative environmental environment and self-esteem had influence on the classification of the potential latent group. Fourth, media device addiction presented influence on the transition from before the after COVID-19 pandemic period. Conclusions School environment, parental attachment, self-resilience, and self-esteem are important in school adaptation for elementary school students in between COVID-19 pandemic and media device addiction may lower school adaptation during pandemic.