How emotion regulation and teacher support shape school performance pressure: a gender-sensitive analysis

This study examined how teacher support and emotion regulation are associated with school performance pressure among adolescents, with a focus on sex differences. Using a nationally representative sample from the 2021/2022 Polish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey (N = 6023), a three-way interaction model tested whether the relationship between emotion regulation and school performance pressure was moderated by teacher support and sex. Results indicated that both higher emotion regulation and stronger teacher support were associated with lower school performance pressure. Importantly, the association between emotion regulation and school performance pressure differed by levels of teacher support for girls and boys. Specifically, the protective association of emotion regulation with school performance pressure was strongest among girls reporting high levels of teacher support. These findings underscore the importance of fostering supportive teacher-student relationships and strengthening students’ emotion regulation skills, especially for girls, in the context of school performance pressure.