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Schwartze MM, Frenzel AC, Goetz T, Lohbeck A, Bednorz D, Kleine M, Pekrun R. Boredom due to being over- or under-challenged in mathematics: A latent profile analysis. BRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 38853009 DOI: 10.1111/bjep.12695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent research on boredom suggests that it can emerge in situations characterized by over- and under-challenge. In learning contexts, this implies that high boredom may be experienced both by low- and high-achieving students. AIMS This research aimed to explore the existence and prevalence of boredom due to being over- and under-challenged in mathematics, for which empirical evidence is lacking. SAMPLE We employed a sample of 1.407 students (fifth to ninth graders) from all three secondary school tracks (lower, middle and upper) in Bavaria (Germany). METHODS Boredom was assessed via self-report and achievement via a standardized mathematics test. We used latent profile analysis to identify groups characterized by different levels of boredom and achievement, and we additionally examined gender and school track as group membership predictors. RESULTS Results revealed four distinct groups, of which two showed considerably high boredom. One was coupled with low achievement on the test (i.e. 'over-challenged group', 13% of the total sample), and one was coupled with high achievement (i.e. 'under-challenged group', 21%). Furthermore, we found a low boredom and high achievement (i.e. 'well-off group', 27%) and a relatively low boredom low achievement group (i.e. 'indifferent group', 39%). Girls were overrepresented in the over-challenged group, and students from the upper school track were underrepresented in the under-challenged group. CONCLUSION Our research emphasizes the need to openly discuss and further investigate boredom due to being over- and under-challenged.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel M Schwartze
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Anne C Frenzel
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Thomas Goetz
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Wien, Austria
| | - Annette Lohbeck
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - David Bednorz
- Department of Mathematics Education, IPN - Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education, Kiel, Germany
| | - Michael Kleine
- Institute of Didactic Mathematics (IDM), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Reinhard Pekrun
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
- Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Australian Catholic University, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia
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Mastrotheodoros S, Hillekens J, Miklikowska M, Palladino BE, Lionetti F. Family Functioning, Identity Commitments, and School Value among Ethnic Minority and Ethnic Majority Adolescents. J Youth Adolesc 2024; 53:1323-1340. [PMID: 38553579 PMCID: PMC11045604 DOI: 10.1007/s10964-024-01972-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
Ethnic minority youth show worse school adjustment than their ethnic majority peers. Yet, it remains unclear whether this gap can be explained by differences in family functioning and consequent identity commitments. This study examined (1) whether family functioning relates to identity commitments over time and (2) whether identity commitments impact later school value (3) among minority and majority adolescents. Minority (N = 205, Mage = 16.25 years, 31.1% girls) and majority adolescents (N = 480, Mage = 15.73 years, 47.9% girls) participated in this preregistered three-wave longitudinal study (T1: March-April 2012; T2: October 2012; T3: March-April 2013). Dynamic Panel Models revealed that most within-person cross-lagged associations were not significant in the total sample. Yet, multigroup analyses revealed differences between groups: Stronger identity commitments related to lower school value among minority adolescents, but were unrelated to school value among majority adolescents over time. Additionally, higher school value increased identity commitments among minority youth, yet it decreased identity commitments among majority youth over time. The findings highlight the differential interplay between identity commitments and school adjustment for minority and majority adolescents, with important implications for their future life chances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanos Mastrotheodoros
- Department of Youth and Family, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
- Department of Psychology, University of Crete, Crete, Greece.
| | - Jessie Hillekens
- Center for Social and Cultural Psychology, Catholic University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Developmental Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands
| | - Marta Miklikowska
- Institute for Globally Distributed Open Research and Education, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Benedetta Emanuela Palladino
- Department of Education, Languages, Intercultures, Literatures and Psychology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Francesca Lionetti
- Department of Neurosciences, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, Gabriele d'Annunzio University of Chieti and Pescara, Pescara, Italy
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Iannattone S, Mezzalira S, Bottesi G, Gatta M, Miscioscia M. Emotion dysregulation and psychopathological symptoms in non-clinical adolescents: The mediating role of boredom and social media use. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health 2024; 18:5. [PMID: 38184635 PMCID: PMC10771649 DOI: 10.1186/s13034-023-00700-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/08/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Emotion dysregulation, boredom, and problematic social media use are well-known vulnerability factors for psychopathology during adolescence; nevertheless, the interplay between these factors remains underinvestigated in the literature. Therefore, the present cross-sectional study aimed to explore the mediating role of boredom and problematic social media use in the relations between emotion dysregulation and both internalizing and externalizing problems in a non-clinical group of Italian adolescents. METHOD 721 students (64.6% girls; Mage = 15.49 years ± 1.82) were involved and completed self-report tools assessing emotion dysregulation, boredom, problematic social media use, and psychopathological symptoms. Path analysis was used to test whether boredom and problematic social media use mediated the relation between emotion dysregulation and psychopathology, distinguishing between internalizing and externalizing problems. RESULTS Path models showed that emotion dysregulation predicted both internalizing and externalizing problems, as well as boredom and problematic social media use. Importantly, boredom mediated the associations between emotion dysregulation and both psychopathological dimensions, while problematic social media use mediated only the relation with externalizing problems. CONCLUSIONS Our results highlight that the influence of emotion dysregulation on psychopathology can manifest through different paths, leading to specific symptomatology based on interactions between various variables. In particular, boredom seems to be a transdiagnostic factor for psychopathology in adolescence, whereas problematic social media use would be a dimension-specific factor. The practical implications of these findings are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Iannattone
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, via Venezia 8, Padua, 35131, Italy.
| | - Selene Mezzalira
- Department of Engineering, University of Basilicata, Potenza, Italy
| | - Gioia Bottesi
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, via Venezia 8, Padua, 35131, Italy
| | - Michela Gatta
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Marina Miscioscia
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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Seiler JPH, Zerr K, Rumpel S, Tüscher O. High state boredom vastly affects psychiatric inpatients and predicts their treatment duration. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:350. [PMID: 37973905 PMCID: PMC10654381 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02650-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Revised: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Boredom is a ubiquitous, aversive human experience typically elicited by low information and monotony. Boredom can occur either as a transient mental state that prompts individuals to adapt their behavior to avoid monotony or as a temporally stable trait, describing a chronic susceptibility to feeling bored. Increased trait boredom was found to correlate with various psychopathologies and indicators of mental burden. However, the role of state boredom in psychopathological conditions and its implications for psychiatric treatment remain elusive. Here, we address this issue by investigating state boredom and trait boredom in a cohort of psychiatric inpatients and a healthy control cohort. We find that in both groups, state boredom, even more than trait boredom, shows remarkable associations with psychopathology. In the inpatient group, state boredom is implicated broadly in multiple mental disorders and shows an association with treatment in closed psychiatric wards. Furthermore, through statistical modeling, we find that high-state boredom during inpatient therapy is predictive of a longer therapy duration. Thus, we show that state boredom constitutes an indicator of mild and severe psychopathology in different mental disorders, affecting the outcome of psychiatric patients. Potential therapeutic interventions are discussed, aiming to enhance information flow in the brain in order to alleviate boredom in clinical settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes P-H Seiler
- Institute of Physiology, Focus Program Translational Neurosciences, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 19, 55131, Mainz, Germany.
| | - Katharina Zerr
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Untere Zahlbacher Straße 8, 55131, Mainz, Germany
- Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research, Wallstraße 7, 55122, Mainz, Germany
| | - Simon Rumpel
- Institute of Physiology, Focus Program Translational Neurosciences, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 19, 55131, Mainz, Germany
| | - Oliver Tüscher
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Untere Zahlbacher Straße 8, 55131, Mainz, Germany
- Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research, Wallstraße 7, 55122, Mainz, Germany
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Ackermannweg 4, 55128, Mainz, Germany
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Tempelaar D, Niculescu A. Academic boredom(s): a person-centered investigation. FRONTIERS IN SOCIOLOGY 2023; 8:1190872. [PMID: 37601332 PMCID: PMC10436487 DOI: 10.3389/fsoc.2023.1190872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
Should we refer to boredom or boredoms? Research on the emotion of boredom sets itself apart from studies on other emotions by posing the question: is boredom a singular concept or does it have multiple facets? In this manuscript presenting empirical research on academic boredom, our aim is to demonstrate the justification for claiming a distinct position. Person-centered models examining university students' achievement emotions reveal the existence of multiple types of boredom, in contrast to other learning emotions that are typically represented as singular constructs. Using data generated by dispositional learning analytics applications, we further investigate the progression of learning boredom over time, exploring the impact of the pandemic and analyzing how various student learning aptitudes, such as mindsets, epistemological beliefs, epistemic emotions, learning motivation, engagement, as well as demographic factors like gender and culture, can be considered as potential antecedents or triggers of boredom. Consistent with the control-value theory of achievement emotions, we conclude that control and value constructs serve as proximal antecedents of boredom, alongside epistemic boredom as a distal antecedent. However, the relationships between boredom and its antecedents exhibit notable variations across different types of boredom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dirk Tempelaar
- Department of Quantitative Economics, School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Alexandra Niculescu
- Centre for Learning Science, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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Bekker CI, Rothmann S, Kloppers MM. The happy learner: Effects of academic boredom, burnout, and engagement. Front Psychol 2023; 13:974486. [PMID: 36704676 PMCID: PMC9872023 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.974486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the impact of demographic and contextual variables on boredom in English and mathematics, and to test structural models of boredom, learner burnout, learner engagement, and life satisfaction. Using a cross-sectional survey design and employing a convenience sampling technique, 544 secondary school learners in the Sedibeng District, Gauteng, South Africa, took part in the study. The participants completed the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire - English, the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire - Mathematics, the Schoolwork Engagement Inventory, the School Burnout Inventory, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Latent variable modeling was used to test measurement and structural models of boredom, burnout, engagement, and life satisfaction. The indirect effects of boredom on life satisfaction were also computed. The results showed that Afrikaans as the home language, the final mark for English in the previous examination, caregivers that cannot help with English homework, and disliking the English teacher predicted boredom in English. Afrikaans as the home language, marks for mathematics in the previous examination, not having the ability to focus on schoolwork at home, and disliking the mathematics teacher predicted boredom in mathematics. Boredom in mathematics and English resulted in an increase in learner burnout and a decrease in learner engagement. Furthermore, boredom in mathematics and English indirectly affected life satisfaction via learner burnout and engagement.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sebastiaan Rothmann
- Optentia Research Unit, North-West University, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa,*Correspondence: Sebastiaan Rothmann,
| | - Magdalena M. Kloppers
- Research Unit Self-directed Learning, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
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Lu L, Liu M, Ge B, Bai Z, Liu Z. Adolescent Addiction to Short Video Applications in the Mobile Internet Era. Front Psychol 2022; 13:893599. [PMID: 35619797 PMCID: PMC9127662 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.893599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The adolescent addiction to short video applications is becoming increasingly prominent, which has brought great challenges to the physical and mental health and daily life of the adolescents. This manuscript conducts an empirical study on the contributing factors of the adolescent addiction to short video applications based on the user generated content (UGC). In our study, 96 participants aged 15-25 were surveyed by questionnaire, and then cross-analysis of individual factors and SEM analysis of UGC content factors were carried out. Through the analysis of individual factors of the adolescent addiction from the perspective of gender, age, and family environment, this study reveals that male users are more addicted to the use of applications (APP), and such addiction varies with age, and prolonged family members' use of short video APP can also exacerbate the adolescent addiction degree. Furthermore, through verification of the theoretical model, it indicates that UGC perception and the degree of boredom in daily life have a significant positive effect on the level of addiction to short video applications, and the degree of boredom in daily life plays a significant mediating role between them. Based on the research on the influences of UGC on the adolescent immersive experience, this study proposes a mechanism of the adolescent addiction to the use of short video applications in the mobile Internet age to provide a better service guarantee for the adolescents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lihong Lu
- College of Modern Economics and Management, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang, China
| | - Mei Liu
- School of Economics and Management, East China Jiaotong University, Nanchang, China
| | - Binchao Ge
- School of Communication and Design, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zijin Bai
- School of Economics and Management, East China Jiaotong University, Nanchang, China
| | - Ziqi Liu
- School of Economics and Management, East China Jiaotong University, Nanchang, China
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Tempelaar D, Niculescu AC. Types of boredom and other learning activity emotions: A person-centred investigation of inter-individual data. MOTIVATION AND EMOTION 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11031-021-09909-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
AbstractWhether boredom is a unitary construct or if multiple types of boredom exist is a long-standing debate. Recent research has established the existence of boredom types based on frequency observations of boredom by experience sampling. This work tries to expand our understanding of boredom and replicate these previous findings by applying intensity observations of cross-sectional type for four discrete learning activity emotions: boredom, anxiety, hopelessness, and enjoyment. Latent class analysis based on activity emotion scores from 9863 first-year students of a business and economics program results in seven profiles. Five of these profiles allow a linear ordering from low to high control and value scores (the direct antecedents of emotions), low to high positive, and high to low negative emotions. Two profiles differ from this pattern: one ‘high boredom’ profile and one ‘low boredom’ profile. We next compare antecedent relationships of activity emotions at three different levels: inter-individual, inter-class or between classes, and intra-class or within classes. Some of these relationships are invariant for the choice of level of analysis, such as hopelessness. Other relationships, such as boredom, are highly variant: within-class relationships differ from inter-individual relationships. Indeed, our results confirm that boredom is not a unitary construct. The types of boredom found and their implications for educational practice are discussed and shared in this article.
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