The Well-being of Vietnamese Adolescents: The Role of School-related Factors

The well-being of Vietnamese adolescents is an increasingly important topic, especially within the context of rapid educational and societal changes. Adolescent well-being includes multiple dimensions, such as mental health, emotional resilience, and quality of social relationships. This study aimed to assess the well-being of Vietnamese adolescents within the context of ongoing educational reform, focusing on the impact of school-related factors. Using a cross-sectional quantitative design, data were collected from 2150 high school students across Vietnam. In this study, adolescent well-being was measured using the EPOCH Measure of Adolescent Well-being, while friend satisfaction, school satisfaction and perceived teacher support were measured as three key predictors. The findings revealed that, overall, students reported moderately high levels of well-being, with Optimism and Connectedness receiving the highest ratings, suggesting that Vietnamese adolescents tend to feel hopeful about the future and maintain strong social bonds. Regression analyses revealed that perceived teacher support was the most significant predictor of adolescents’ well-being, followed by friend satisfaction and school satisfaction. These factors taken together explained 35.3% of the variation in adolescent well-being. The findings highlight the pivotal role of the school social environment—particularly teacher and peer relationships—in shaping adolescent well-being. As Vietnam continues to reform its education system, these findings point to the need for policies and practices that strengthen supportive relationships within schools to promote adolescent mental health and well-being.