Research on student well-being in school (SWB) has become a central concern for inclusive education across Europe, reflecting a shift towards holistic educational goals that encompass mental health and quality of life (UNESCO, 2025; OECD, 2023). Within this context, SWB serves as a crucial indicator for assessing the quality of inclusive learning environments (Kullmann et al., 2023). Quantitative studies consistently identify psychosocial problems as among the most robust predictors of diminished SWB, whereas the impact of the formal category "special educational needs" (SEN) remains contested and inconsistent (e.g., Alnahdi & Schwab, 2021; Goldan et al., 2022). The research landscape successfully maps statistical relationships but leaves a significant gap: it provides limited insight into the subjective lived experiences and personal sense-making processes that underlie these correlations.

Understanding these internal, interpretive layers is vital for developing responsive and effective inclusive practices. To systematically explore students' perspectives, this study is theoretically grounded in Hascher's (2004) multidimensional model of SWB determinants. This influential model posits that SWB is shaped by the dynamic interplay of three interconnected domains: environmental factors (e.g., family support, socioeconomic background), school factors (e.g., teacher-student relationships, classroom climate), and individual factors (e.g., motivation, self-concept, psychosocial dispositions). While this model provides a comprehensive framework, qualitative insights into how students themselves perceive and weigh these factors – particularly in the context of psychosocial problems – are scarce.

This study addresses this research gap by employing an in-depth qualitative design. It builds upon a prior quantitative survey (Zdoupas et al., 2025) in German inclusive secondary schools, which identified students with comorbid (internalizing and externalizing) problems as a distinct group reporting the lowest SWB. Using this finding as a sampling framework, we shift from a variable-centered to a person-centered perspective. Our study explores the following research questions:

1. Which (environmental, school-related, and individual) factors do students with and without significant psychosocial problems name as central to their SWB?
2. How do these two groups subjectively perceive, interpret, and attribute meaning to their social and academic experiences in school?

This exploratory approach aims to reconstruct the individual logic of SWB formation from the students' standpoint. By contrasting the perspectives of students facing significant psychosocial challenges with those who are not, we seek to illuminate the interpretive frameworks that may either buffer against or amplify distress in inclusive settings. The findings aim to contribute a nuanced, emic perspective to the European discourse on inclusive education, highlighting that equitable participation is not only a matter of structural provision but also of subjective perceptions and mean-making (Göranson & Nilholm, 2014).

The study employs a qualitative, contrastive design based on purposeful sampling from a defined quantitative cohort. Participants were recruited from a prior survey study (Zdoupas et al., 2025) conducted with N = 967 students (Grades 8-10) from seven inclusive secondary schools in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. That study used the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 2005) and a multidimensional SWB scale (Kullmann et al., 2023). Based on this data, two contrasting groups were formed for in-depth interviewing: • Group with comorbid psychosocial problems (n=10): Students scoring above established risk thresholds on both internalizing and externalizing SDQ subscales and reporting the lowest SWB scores in the cohort. • Group without significant psychosocial problems (n=10): Students scoring below risk thresholds on all SDQ subscales and reporting the highest SWB scores. This sampling strategy ensures the groups represent maximally different experiences of SWB linked to psychosocial status. The interview sub-sample reflected the gender and SEN distribution of the main study. The significant SWB difference between groups was maintained (M_comorbid=2.16, SD=1.56 vs. M_without=3.49, SD=1.78; t(18)=-2.25, p=.019). Data was collected through semi-structured interviews guided by topics derived from Hascher's (2004) model of SWB determinants (individual, school-related, environmental factors). Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using a two-stage qualitative content analysis (Mayring, 2022). 1. First stage (deductive structuring): Transcripts were coded using a pre-defined category system based on the three determinant domains by Hascher (2004). This provided a structured overview of mentioned factors. Intercoder reliability on this categorical level was excellent (Cohen’s κ = .91). 2. Second stage (inductive, contrastive analysis): Within these domains, the material was analyzed inductively. The focus was on reconstructing group-specific patterns of perception: the emotional framing of experiences, causal attributions (e.g., internal/external, stable/variable), and perceived agency. This stage involved a comparative, interpretive analysis to identify contrasting logics of perception and interpretation.

Both groups named relevant factors across all three domains (Q1). School-related factors, especially peer and teacher relationships, were the most prominent for all students. A key difference emerged within the individual domain: students without psychosocial problems emphasized personal motivation and a positive self-concept, whereas students with comorbid problems centrally referenced their own psychosocial symptoms as core determinants of their SWB. Across all named factors, regardless of domain, two fundamentally divergent patterns of perception and interpretation were reconstructed (Q2). Students without significant psychosocial problems displayed narratives characterized by resource-oriented agency. They described social relationships as stable and reliable, and framed academic challenges as manageable through effort. Setbacks were often normalized or attributed to external, variable causes, preserving a positive self-concept. In contrast, students with comorbid psychosocial problems exhibited patterns of constricted agency and negative self-referentiality. Their social world was perceived as unstable and threatening, marked by anticipation of rejection. Academic difficulties and social experiences were consistently internalized as evidence of personal inadequacy. This interpretative logic chronically framed the school environment as overwhelming and the self as ineffective within it. The findings suggest that psychosocial problems are linked to SWB through specific, subjectively constructed patterns of social-cognitive processing (Crick & Dodge, 1994; Lemerise & Arsenio, 2000). These interpretative frameworks – characterized either by resource-oriented agency or by constricted, self-blaming agency – appear to be central proximal determinants of how school is experienced. For inclusive practice, this implies that support must extend beyond academic or behavioral interventions to address these deep-seated patterns of self-perception and other-perception. Our study underscores the necessity of integrating qualitative, experiential knowledge into the European evidence base for inclusive education. It highlights that fostering well-being requires attentiveness to the internal worlds of students, where the challenges of inclusion are ultimately felt and negotiated.

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