Geopsychiatric Students Well-being: The Role of Student–Teacher Relationships and School Bonding in Conflict-Affected Indonesian Regions

This study employs geopsychiatry as an explanatory lens to situate schools within a risk–protection ecology in conflict-prone settings, with empirical testing focused on school-based mechanisms measurable through survey data. Using a cross-sectional design, we examined the associations among students’ school-based well-being, student–teacher relationship quality, perceived school psychological environment, and student–school connectedness in a sample of 310 secondary school students. Analyses included Pearson correlations and hierarchical regression with interaction tests (predictors mean-centered), controlling for age, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES). Results indicated that psychological need satisfaction (PNS), resilience (RES), and positive affect (PA) were positively associated with perceived school psychological environment (SPS), whereas negative affect (NA) was negatively associated. SPS emerged as the strongest predictor of student–school connectedness (SSC), supporting a proximal mechanism pathway centered on school bonding. At the relational level, student–teacher closeness and dependency were positively associated with SPS and SSC, whereas conflict was negatively associated. Interaction findings suggested that under less optimal relationships (high conflict/dependency), students’ daily emotions became more consequential for perceptions of school climate. Resilience appeared more relevant as a protective resource, although interaction effects on the mediator equation were generally small and evidence for moderated mediation was inconsistent. These findings underscore the importance of an integrated approach that strengthens a safe and supportive school psychological climate, improves teacher–student relationship quality, and develops students’ resilience and emotion regulation as core components of school mental health promotion in high-risk contexts.