South Korean children's academic achievement and subjective well-being: The mediation of academic stress and the moderation of perceived fairness of parents and teachers

Abstract This study examines the relationship between academic achievement and subjective well-being (SWB) of South Korean children, focusing on the mediating role of academic stress and the moderating role of perceived fairness of parents and teachers. Previous studies have shown a positive association between academic achievement and SWB among children and youth. However, the underlying mechanisms of this association have not been fully elucidated. We hypothesized that (1) academic stress would mediate the relationship between academic achievement and two SWB indicators, life satisfaction and positive affect, and (2) perceived fairness of parents and teachers would moderate the relationship between academic stress and two SWB indicators. To test these hypotheses, this study analyzed data from a subsample (ages 10 and 12, n = 4705) of the 2013 South Korean data from the International Survey of Children's Well-Being. The results suggest that (1) academic achievement is positively related to life satisfaction and positive affect, partially mediated through academic stress (e.g., a higher academic achievement is associated with a lower academic stress, which in turn relates to higher SWB), and (2) the negative relationships between academic stress and two SWB indicators are moderated by a perceived fairness of parents and teachers (e.g., perceived higher fairness buffers the effect of academic stress on SWB). The implications of these findings are discussed.