Emotional Regulation and Academic Performance in the Academic Context: The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy in Secondary Education Students

The mediating role of emotional intelligence in the relationship between learning motivation and academic outcomes: Conditional indirect effect of gender

BACKGROUND

The role of emotional intelligence and learning motivation in shaping university students' academic outcomes has received greater attention, especially during the modernization era. Thus, this study investigates the mediating role of emotional intelligence in the relationship between learning motivation and academic outcomes while examining the gender-conditional indirect effect.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted in four randomly chosen cities in Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, Jeddah, Hail, and Yanbu), where 400 health science students were conveniently selected using equal allocation (100 students/campus). A digital survey was used for data collection (April-May 2022) containing three sections: Personal Characteristics and Academic Outcomes, Modified Schutte Self-Report Inventory, and Academic Motivation Scale.

RESULTS

Emotional intelligence positively correlated with learning motivation (r = 0.525, P < 0.001) and academic outcomes (r = 0.153, P < 0.001), where academic outcomes had a weak positive correlation with learning motivation (r = 0.115, P = 0.014). Mediation analysis confirmed that emotional intelligence fully mediates the relationship between learning motivation and academic outcomes with an insignificant direct effect of learning motivation on academic outcomes [(β =0.049, P = 0.573), 95% CI (-0.059, 0.144)]. The conditional indirect effect of gender significantly moderated 16.1% of the mediating effect of emotional intelligence [(β =0.161, P = 0.005), 95% CI (0.035, 0.273)]. The significant indirect effect was proved for the male gender only [(β = 0.157, P = 0.004), 95% CI (0.072, 0.240)]. No significant gender differences concerning emotional intelligence (P = 0.534) and academic outcomes (P = 0.466) were detected. However, male students had significantly higher learning motivation than female students (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Emotional intelligence completely mediates the relationship between learning motivation and outcomes with a stronger mediating effect for male students. Thus, policymakers must focus on improving the students' emotional intelligence skills to boost their learning motivation and academic outcomes.

University makes me angry: Investigating stimulus-response (S-R) and cognitive-mediation (C-M) emotion beliefs in undergraduate students

Emotion regulation through cognitive reappraisal is well-studied, but less so are the predispositional and superordinate beliefs that influence reappraisal. Recently, researchers developed the cognitive mediation beliefs questionnaire (CMBQ), which measures two emotion beliefs, namely stimulus-response (S-R) generation beliefs and cognitive mediation (C-M) change beliefs. In working populations S-R generation beliefs are inversely related to cognitive reappraisal tendencies and positive mental health, and positively related to emotion reactivity. C-M change beliefs are positively related to cognitive reappraisal tendencies, and inversely related to emotion reactivity and positive mental health. As yet, there is no evidence for the validity of the CMBQ within student samples, or for the associations between its subscales and cognitive reappraisal, emotion reactivity, and positive mental health. Therefore, in the present study the CMBQ is tested for factorial, convergent (associations with cognitive reappraisal), and concurrent (associations with emotion reactivity and positive mental health) validity in a cohort of 621 undergraduate students in the United Kingdom (U.K.). Results indicate support for the factorial and convergent validity of the CMBQ, with mixed evidence for the concurrent validity of the CMBQ. A CM-SR discrepancy score appeared to provide a promising variable when associated with emotion reactivity and positive mental health. The findings are discussed in terms of practical and research implications of the findings.

The effect of smartphone dependence on learning burnout among undergraduates: the mediating effect of academic adaptability and the moderating effect of self-efficacy

Introduction

Smartphone dependence is closely related to the physical and mental health development of undergraduates and their learning. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between smartphone dependence, academic adaptability, self-efficacy and learning burnout among undergraduates and its underlying mechanisms.

Methods

The study was conducted on 2,110 undergraduates using the Smartphone Dependence Scale, the Undergraduates Learning Adjustment Scale, the Learning Burnout Undergraduates Scale and the Self-Efficacy Scale to develop a mediation model and a moderation model.

Results

The findings of this study revealed that (1) smartphone dependence significantly negatively predicted academic adaptability; (2) academic adaptability significantly negatively predicted learning burnout; (3) smartphone dependence significantly positively predicted learning burnout; (4) academic adaptability partially mediated the effect of smartphone dependence on learning burnout; (5) self-efficacy played a moderating role in the effect of academic adaptability on learning burnout.

Conclusion

These findings can help researchers and educators better understand the underlying mechanisms between smartphone dependence and learning burnout in undergraduates.

Critical Thinking, Generalized Anxiety in Satisfaction with Studies: The Mediating Role of Academic Self-Efficacy in Medical Students

BACKGROUND

The academic and emotional challenges faced by medical students can affect critical thinking and may also contribute to the development of increased generalized anxiety. Similarly, critical thinking and generalized anxiety can impact study satisfaction through the mediating mechanism of academic self-efficacy.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to assess the mediating role of academic self-efficacy between critical thinking and generalized anxiety in study satisfaction among medical students.

METHODS

A cross-sectional and explanatory study was conducted involving 259 Peruvian medical students aged between 18 and 35 (M = 20.29, SD = 2.84). The evaluation was based on self-reported questionnaires covering critical thinking, generalized anxiety, academic self-efficacy, and study satisfaction. Furthermore, a structural equation modeling (SEM) and mediation approach was employed to examine the relationships between variables.

RESULTS

The results showed an adequate fit of the model [χ2 (87) = 155, p < 0.001, CFI = 0.93, TLI = 0.92, RMSEA = 0.05 (CI: 0.04-0.07), SRMR = 0.07], demonstrating the impact of critical thinking and generalized anxiety. It was confirmed that academic self-efficacy has a positive effect on study satisfaction. Moreover, the mediating role of academic self-efficacy was confirmed between critical thinking and study satisfaction, as well as between generalized anxiety and study satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

Due to the high academic load on medical students, academic self-efficacy plays a mediating role in the relationship between critical thinking, generalized anxiety, and satisfaction with studies. The development of educational strategies will help to promote critical thinking and academic self-efficacy, as well as provide support to students with generalized anxiety, to enhance study satisfaction.

Relationship between family background and self-efficacy in adolescent table tennis players: a moderated mediation model

Introduction

A moderated mediation model was constructed in this study to clarify the relationship between family background and self-efficacy of adolescent table tennis players, focusing on the mediating effect of technical learning engagement in the relationship as well as the moderating role of factors such as gender and training years.

Methods

189 adolescent table tennis players (age: 13.69±1.28 years) were investigated as subjects using a questionnaire method.

Results

(1) Family background, technical learning engagement, and self-efficacy were significantly and positively correlated (p<0.01), with girls' technical learning engagement (M_female=5.81, M_male=5.19, p<0.01) and self-efficacy (M_female=3.34, M_male=2.66, p<0.01) significantly higher than boys'; (2) Technical learning engagement partially mediated the effect of family background on self-efficacy (ab=0.10, boot SE=0.02,95% CI=[0.07, 0.14]); (3) The first half of technical learning engagement's mediating role was moderated by gender (B=0.05, p<0.01), with a more significant influence of family background on boys' (B=0.24, p<0.001, 95% CI=[0.22, 0.26]) technical learning engagement than girls' (B=0.19, p<0.001, 95% CI=[0.17, 0.21]); (4) The second half of technical learning engagement's mediating role was moderated by training years (B=-0.21, p<0.001), with a more significant influence of technical learning engagement on the self-efficacy of adolescents with fewer training years (B=0.54, p<0.001, 95% CI=[0.39, 0.68]). The positive effect of technical learning engagement on self-efficacy gradually diminished with increasing training years, and the moderating effect of training years disappeared when the training years reached 8.94 years.

Conclusion

(1) More attention should be paid to adolescent table tennis players with poor family backgrounds, who are more likely to have low self-efficacy. (2) Parents should never neglect their initiative in providing guidance and support to adolescent players involved in long-term professional table tennis training, especially for boys. (3) Coaches should pay close attention to the level of technical learning engagement of players with long training years, who are more likely to have lower self-efficacy as a result of their own emotional experiences, stagnant performance, etc.

The effects of Latino Dance intervention on academic and general self-efficacy with left-behind children: An experimental study in China

Introduction

Although there is considerable research indicating that physical exercise and dance can strengthen children's self-efficacy, and children's self-efficacy can predict students' academic achievement at a wide range of academic levels. Few studies have been conducted using Latino Dance to improve self-efficacy in Left-Behind Children (LBC), especially the two aspects of student academic self-efficacy and general self-efficacy, while the mediator role of self-esteem between student academic self-efficacy and general self-efficacy has been less explored in previous research.

Methods

This study proposed to examine Latino Dance interventions to improve general self-efficacy and students' academic self-efficacy among LBC students in rural areas to boost students' academic performance, and the research team hypothesised that general self-efficacy, students' academic self-efficacy and self-esteem would improve following the intervention and that outcomes will have a significant positive correlation as students' self-esteem can mediate both their academic self-efficacy and their general self-efficacy. Dates were collected from 305 LBCs children (160 boys and 145 girls) from 6 left-behind schools in Hunan province, China. Ralf Schwarzer's general self-efficacy scale, Morgan-Jinks Student academic Self-Efficacy Scale, and Rosenberg's self-esteem scale were administered to LBCs between September 2020 and January 2022.

Results

The results revealed that the Latino Dance intervention significantly increased the LBC student' academic self-efficacy and general self-efficacy, which also involved a positive effect on the three sub-dimensions (talent, context, and effort) of students' academic self-efficacy. Further, multiple linear regression analysis confirmed that self-esteem (positive esteem/self-deprecation) acted as a partial mediator between student academic self-efficacy and general self-efficacy; perceived self-esteem played a mediating role between them.

Discussion

This study filled a gap in the literature concerning the psychological reinforcement effect of Latino Dance on LBC groups and demonstrated that Latino Dance improved the student' academic self-efficacy and general self-efficacy among the LBCs. Our results suggest that Latino Dance can be beneficial for LBC in school by including Latino Dance in Physical Education or Art courses and improving students' self-esteem may lead to an increase in student academic self-efficacy as well as general self-efficacy, thereby improving and enhancing the learning of LBCs.

Perceived academic performance explained by school climate, positive psychological variables and life satisfaction

BACKGROUND

Adolescents spend a large percentage of their time at school, where learning and achievement are important activities that are vital to their future educational success and subsequent career opportunities. However, studies reveal a significant drop in satisfaction and performance during the teenage years.

AIM

Based on the ecological model, this study aims to explore the relationship dynamics between contextual (school climate) and psychological (emotional intelligence and resilience) variables, life satisfaction and perceived academic performance, analysing, to this end, four theoretical models grounded in previous research.

SAMPLE

The sample comprised a total of 1397 adolescents aged between 12 and 16 years from the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country (northern Spain).

ANALYSIS

The Equations 6.2 program was used to estimate the measurement model and the structural models, using the robust maximum likelihood procedure.

RESULTS

School climate and life satisfaction were found to directly influence perceived academic performance, whereas emotional intelligence and resilience did so indirectly, with the full mediation of life satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

These results have important educational implications, since they reveal existing relationship dynamics, which should serve as a basis for the effective implementation of school programs. They also indicate how important it is for adolescents to be psychologically well-adjusted and satisfied with their lives, in order for them to perform optimally at school.

Longitudinal pathways from adolescent depressive symptoms to cardiovascular disease risk in adulthood

RATIONALE

Despite existing literature on the impact of adolescent depressive symptoms on a variety of youth outcomes, little is known about whether and how adolescent depressive symptoms are associated with physical health in adulthood.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the longitudinal association between adolescent depressive symptoms and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in adulthood. An extensive list of potential mechanisms underlying this association, including health behaviors, substance use, academic effort and achievement, and school-based relationships, was also examined.

METHODS

Using the sibling sample from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 3011), this study employed sibling fixed-effects models to address unobservable family-level confounders, such as genetic factors, parental and familial characteristics, and school and neighborhood environments.

RESULTS

Adolescent depressive symptoms were associated with an increased risk of CVD in about 13 years later (b = 0.698). Sibling fixed-effects estimates revealed that, despite some attenuation (approximately 31%), this association is robust to adjustment for unobserved family-level heterogeneity. Substance use and academic effort/achievement explained about 35% and 16% of the association between adolescent depressive symptoms and adult CVD risk, respectively. In contrast, health behaviors and school-based relationships played little or no role in mediating the association.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study suggest that policymakers and practitioners may wish to develop interventions to reduce adolescent depressive symptoms and to help adolescents with depressive symptoms avoid substance use and promote effort in school. Early interventions targeting adolescents with depressive symptoms may be a cost-effective strategy for preventing adult physical health problems.

Differences in central symptoms of anxiety and depression between college students with different academic performance: A network analysis

Objective

The prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms for Chinese college students are high. Academic pressure is one of the prominent risk factors of psychological well-beings for Chinese college students. The application of network analysis provides researchers a more comprehensive understanding of symptom-symptom interaction in mental disorders. This study aims to find out whether there is a difference in central symptoms between students with different academic performance.

Method

A total sample of 1,291 college students was included in our study. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were measured by PHQ-9 and GAD-7. Central symptoms were identified through centrality indices. Network stability was examined using the case-dropping method.

Results

For the poor academic group, the most central symptom is PHQ-2 (feeling depressed). The most central symptom of the good academic group is GAD-2 (uncontrolled worry). The least central symptom for both groups is PHQ-9 (suicidal thought). Network structure is statistically different between two groups, global strength is not statistically different between two groups.

Conclusion

The pertinent symptom is feeling depressed, followed by uncontrolled worry and poor appetite, and for the good academic group, the pertinent symptom is an uncontrolled worry, theoretical explanation and clinical implications is discussed.

Understanding protective and risk factors affecting adolescents' well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study investigated the factors affecting adolescents' well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspectives of their participation in digital activities, emotional regulation, self-regulated learning, and parental involvement. Using self-reported data from 932 pairs of adolescents and their parents, we performed multiple-group structural equation modeling, which revealed that self-efficacy in online learning during school suspension was a key factor influencing adolescents' perceived worries after schools resumed. During school suspension, boys' cognitive-emotional regulation played a protective role in their well-being, helping them to avoid cyberbullying incidents, while girls' participation in leisure-oriented digital activities compromised their self-efficacy in online learning and led to cyberbullying incidents. Furthermore, improvement in parent-child relationships during school suspension encouraged adolescents to use more positive emotional regulation strategies, enhanced their self-efficacy in online learning, and reduced their leisure-time digital activities. The findings indicate that the effective regulation of adolescents' online behaviors, emotions, and self-efficacy, especially when combined with an emotionally secure family relationship, can ensure adolescents' well-being.

Types of Intelligence and Academic Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The concept of intelligence has been extensively studied, undergoing an evolution from a unitary concept to a more elaborate and complex multidimensional one. In addition, several research studies have focused their efforts for decades on the study of intelligence as a predictor of academic performance of students at different educational stages, being a stable and highly relevant predictor along with other variables such as executive functions, social context, culture or parental guardianship. Thus, the present study, based on a systematic review and meta-analysis, includes 27 studies with a total sample of 42,061 individuals. The main objective was to analyse the relationship between intelligence and academic performance using different predictive models that include moderating variables such as country of origin, type of intelligence, gender and age. The findings of this research highlight the significant, positive and moderate relationship between intelligence and academic performance (r = 0.367; p < 0.001), highlighting the predictive capacity on school performance when the type of intelligence (general and implicit; 35%) or the country of origin (45%) is taken as a moderating variable, with the explanatory models on age or sex not being significant. Therefore, it can be concluded that intelligence, in addition to being a good predictor of academic performance, is influenced depending on the type of intelligence or theoretical model taken as a reference, and also depending on the country or culture of origin.

Testing the Impact of Depressive and Anxiety Features on the Association between Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms and Academic Performance among University Students: A Mediation Analysis

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with poor academic performance also among university students. This relationship may be made more complex by comorbid conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mediating role of anxiety and depressive symptoms in the relationship between ADHD and academic performance. Data were drawn from the CAMPUS study (registration number: 0058642/21), an ongoing survey on university students’ mental health. Using a logit model, mediation analyses were carried out to test whether the relationship between ADHD symptoms (assessed by ASRS-5) and academic performance might be mediated by depressive (assessed by PHQ-9) and anxiety (assessed by GAD-7) symptoms. Our results showed that worse academic performance is associated with ADHD symptoms (p < 0.001). However, about 24% of the overall association between ADHD symptoms and academic performance was mediated by depressive symptoms (indirect effect: 0.065, 95%CI 0.022; 0.100), whereas the contribution of anxiety symptoms to the model was not significant. Along with the association between ADHD symptoms and poor academic performance, our findings highlight the key mediating role of depressive symptoms, which may be targeted with tailored support, ultimately improving both the academic performance and the well-being of university students with ADHD.

The Influence of Online STEM Education Camps on Students' Self-Efficacy, Computational Thinking, and Task Value

As a result of COVID-19, various forms of education and teaching are moving online. However, the notion of an online STEM camp is still in its beginnings, and there is little relevant research and experience in this context. At the beginning of April 2021, the research team launched an online STEM charity camp with the theme of "Shen Nong Tastes Herbs." Participants included 113 third- and fourth-grade primary school students ranging from 8 to 12 years of age from four schools in Karamay, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region with weak educational capabilities. The camp lasted for 3 days and included 7 activities, while remote teaching was accomplished through Dingtalk. Pre- and post-test questionnaires and interviews were used to explore the impact of this camp on students. We found that online STEM camps could improve students' self-efficacy, computational thinking, and task value, and there is a significant improvement in the self-efficacy (p = 0.000) and task value (p = 0.001) dimensions. In addition, students with high self-efficacy had higher scores in the other two dimensions. Finally, we summarized the experiences and gains of students and teachers and proposed suggestions for developing online camps based on this experience. [Table: see text].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10956-022-09967-y.

Psychometric Analysis and Contribution to the Evaluation of the Exams-Related Emotions Scale in Primary and Secondary School Students

The objective of this research was to perform a construct validity, and a psychometric analysis of the Exams-related Emotions Scale (EES), analyze the differences in their scores regarding gender and academic year in primary and secondary education student, as well as study the relationship between emotions and academic performance. During the construction and analysis of the psychometric characteristics of the scale, an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were performed. To test EES scores based on gender and school year, the T-Student test for independent samples and ANOVA were used, respectively. To verify the relationship between the scores of the different types of emotions and academic performance, the Pearson correlation test was performed. A total of 562 students belonging to the 5th (n = 228) and 6th (n = 186) primary school year and the 1st (n = 134) and 2nd (n = 94) secondary school year participated in the research. Age between 10 and 15 years old (mean = 11.66, standard deviation = 1.206) both males (50.5%) and females (49.5%). The results offered support for the three-factor structure. The analysis of invariance with respect to gender showed that the factor structure was invariant. Boys scored higher on the positive emotions factor and lower scores on anxiety than girls. Regarding school year, negative emotions and anxiety related to exams increase in the secondary courses compared to Primary while for positive emotions it is primary school students who obtain higher scores. The correlation coefficient between negative emotions (as well as anxiety) and school performance is negative whereas the correlation coefficient between positive emotions and academic performance is positive. EES scale is an instrument with scientific rigor and with adequate reliability and validity to be able to know the emotions that primary and secondary school students suffer when they are subjected to evaluation processes in the academic context.

Agricultural Water Use Efficiency and Rebound Effect: A Study for China

Agricultural water use accounts for the largest proportion of water withdrawal, so improving agricultural water use efficiency is an important way to alleviate water shortage. However, the expected water saving by the improved agricultural water use efficiency may be offset by the rebound effect, which means the goal of water saving by improving agricultural water use efficiency is not achieved. Based on the definition of the rebound effect of agricultural water use, this paper first uses a fixed model to measure the causal effect of agricultural water use efficiency on agricultural water use to analyze the agricultural water rebound effect, then analyses the heterogeneity and mechanism of the effect of agricultural water use efficiency on agricultural water use with the panel data from 30 provinces or cities in China from 2000 to 2017. The results show that, firstly, the agricultural water use efficiency has a significant negative effect on agricultural water use, but the average agricultural water rebound effect is 88.81%. Secondly, the effect of agricultural water use efficiency on agricultural water use is heterogeneous, in which the improvement of agricultural water use efficiency in humid or major grain-producing areas will have a lower agricultural water rebound effect. Finally, agricultural water use efficiency can affect agricultural water use through planting area and planting structure. An increase in agricultural water use efficiency will expand the planting area to increase water use. However, this will change the planting structure to decrease water use. The implication for agricultural water management is that the irrigation agricultural scale has to be controlled under the condition of available water resource, while improving agricultural water use efficiency.