The well-being and mental health of principals is being threatened by changing working conditions such as a broader variety of roles and tasks. In this article, we argue that social capital might buffer against declining (mental) health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential influence of social capital, including both internal (bonding) and external (bridging and linking) social capital, on principals’ well-being. A longitudinal study was set up across three waves of data. Questionnaires were collected from 2084 Australian principals and 829 Irish principals, across six and two timepoints, respectively. The hypotheses were tested using a longitudinal path model approach using maximum likelihood estimation in lavaan for R. In line with our hypotheses, the results indicated that principals who reported higher levels of either internal or external social capital also reported higher levels of well-being. More specifically, support from colleagues outside the school and supervisor support (external social capital) and collaboration and trust in management (internal social capital) predicted well-being positively across time. The results of this study highlight the importance of having social support from colleagues and supervisors and possibilities for collaboration to maintain well-being as a school principal.

不断变化的工作条件，例如各种各样的角色和任务，正威胁着校长的福祉和心理健康。在本文中，我们认为社会资本可能会缓解（心理）健康状况的下降。这项研究的目的是调查社会资本（包括内部（绑定）和外部（桥接和链接）社会资本）对委托人福祉的潜在影响。对三波数据进行了纵向研究。问卷调查分别来自六个时间点和两个时间点，分别来自2084名澳大利亚校长和829名爱尔兰校长。使用纵向路径模型方法对假设进行了测试，该方法使用了R的lavaan中的最大似然估计。根据我们的假设，结果表明，报告内部或外部社会资本水平较高的校长也报告了较高水平的幸福感。更具体地说，校外同事的支持和上司的支持（外部社会资本）以及协作和对管理的信任（内部社会资本）在整个时期内都对幸福感产生了积极的影响。这项研究的结果凸显了获得同事和主管的社会支持的重要性，以及开展协作以保持校长幸福感的可能性。校外同事的支持和上司的支持（外部社会资本）以及协作和对管理的信任（内部社会资本）预示着人们的幸福感。这项研究的结果凸显了获得同事和主管的社会支持的重要性，以及开展协作以保持校长幸福感的可能性。校外同事的支持和上司的支持（外部社会资本）以及协作和对管理的信任（内部社会资本）预示着人们的幸福感。这项研究的结果凸显了获得同事和主管的社会支持的重要性，以及开展协作以保持校长幸福感的可能性。