Cross-lagged relations between psychological suzhi and academic achievement

Teacher-Student Relationships and Coping Styles in Chinese Children: The Chain Mediating Role of Peer Relationships and Psychological Suzhi

As age increases, children will face more and more adversity. How effectively they cope with stress and difficulties of life is of great significance to the development of children's mental health and academic achievement. However, few studies have explored how different interpersonal relationships and psychological suzhi work together to influence children's healthy behaviors, particularly healthy coping in adversity. Therefore, this research focused on the teacher-student relationships and coping styles, as well as the chain-mediated effects of peer relationships and psychological suzhi. A total of 688 children (360 boys, 52.3%; Mage = 10.98 and SD = 0.89) completed questionnaires that assessed using teacher-student relationships, peer relationships, psychological suzhi, and coping styles. The results indicated that teacher-student relationships correlated positively with coping styles, peer relationships, and psychological suzhi in children. Besides, teacher-student relationships positively affected coping styles through both the mediating roles of peer relationships and psychological suzhi. This research elucidated the extrinsic and intrinsic factors impacting the coping styles of children, thus providing empirical validation of existing theoretical frameworks. In China, interventions aimed at promoting Chinese children's positive coping could benefit from strategies focused on cultivating high-quality relationships and enhancing psychological suzhi.

Psychological suzhi moderates state anxiety and heart rate responses to acute stress in male adolescents

Psychological suzhi has increasingly been recognized to buffer chronic stress and improve mental health. However, few studies have examined the role of psychological suzhi in the response to acute stress. The current study aimed to investigate whether psychological suzhi can buffer state anxiety and heart rate responses to acute stress in adolescents. Healthy male adolescents (N = 63) were classified into high (N = 30) or low (N = 33) psychological suzhi groups based on the Chinese norm of adolescent psychological suzhi scale-simplified version. They completed both the modified Trier Social Stress Test for Groups and a specific control condition, with heart rate and state anxiety assessed. Data were analysed with mixed-design repeated measures analysis of variance. The results showed that the modified Trier Social Stress Test for Groups condition effectively induced an increase in state anxiety and heart rate. Furthermore, individuals with higher levels of psychological suzhi showed lower state anxiety and heart rate stress responses. The present study indicated that psychological suzhi is an important internal resource against acute stress, which may inform interventions for male adolescents exposed to acute stress.

Psychological suzhi and academic achievement in Chinese adolescents: A 2-year longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

In the Chinese educational system, there has been an ongoing debate between using examination- or quality-oriented education. The Chinese concept of psychological suzhi was proposed based on quality-oriented education, and a positive link between psychological suzhi and academic achievement was found by cross-sectional studies; however, studies examining their longitudinal relationship are still lacking.

AIMS

To examine the longitudinal trajectories of Chinese adolescents' academic achievement and the longitudinal effects of psychological suzhi on academic achievement trajectories.

SAMPLE

Participants were 3,587 adolescents (M_age  = 14.85 years, 51.1% male) in grades 7 and 10, from 10 secondary schools in southwest China.

METHOD

A 2-year (four-wave) longitudinal study was conducted, and growth mixture models were used to analyse the data.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Four distinct developmental trajectories of academic achievement were identified (i.e., high-positive growth, middle-negative growth, low-stable, and lowest-stable) that were significantly predicted by different levels of psychological suzhi, particularly the dimension of cognitive quality. Cognitive quality was strongly associated with the initial academic achievement values in the high-positive growth group and linked to achievement rate (decreasing) in the middle-negative growth group. However, individuality quality and adaptability quality had a buffering effect on the rate of achievement decreasing in the middle-negative growth group. This study not only highlighted the promotive role of high cognitive quality on high levels of achievement (static) but also indicated the protective role of non-cognitive factors (i.e., individuality and adaptability) against a decreasing rate of academic achievement (dynamic).