SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT AS A FACTOR AFFECTING STUDENTS’

The age period of adolescence is characterized as a period of anxiety with a rapid development of independence and abilities, as well as an increased risk of mental health problems and anti-social behaviour. Adolescents engage in many processes, which take place in the family, at school, during leisure time and adolescents’ gatherings. Traditional studies on adolescents’ well-being are aimed at behaviour analysis (i.e. smoking, alcohol use and unhealthy diet) related to negative effects on health. However, recent studies focus on the positive factors affecting students’ well-being, for instance, good relationships at school and in school environment. It is considered (Burkart, 2005; Rezgale, 2014) that well-being has several functions:
1) assessment (related to the physical aspect, exchange of experience between oneself and the world, positive atmosphere, when happiness and peace hormones are released);
2) motivational (identifies activities);
3) communicative (includes dialogues between persons).
Well-being in adolescence is of great importance, as it is a period, when personality crystallisation takes place and an individual becomes a personality (Vijayan, Joseph, 2015).
The aim of the research is to determine the existence and the types of interrelations between school environment and adolescents’ defined most worrisome problems.