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Optimism and perseverance: Examining interrelations with test anxiety and academic achievement
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Type
Article
Citation
Chue, K. L., & Lim, M. L. (2024). Optimism and perseverance: Examining interrelations with test anxiety and academic achievement. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 10, Article 101196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2024.101196
Abstract
Over the past two decades, there has been increasing attention in research into associations between student well-being and academic achievement. Notably, dimensions of perseverance and optimism have been found to influence students positively. However, results pertaining to the joint contribution of optimism and perseverance to academic achievement have rarely been examined. Furthermore, few studies have investigated these key constructs among student samples outside of the Western context, limiting our understanding of the nature of their relationships among these adolescents. In the present study, we posit that test anxiety is a pathway through which perseverance and optimism impacts academic achievement. Accordingly, the research aims to investigate the relationship between perseverance, optimism, test anxiety, and academic achievement. Additionally, we examine for gender differences in perseverance, optimism, and test anxiety. The participants were 2017 secondary one students (763 boys, 1254 girls). Results indicated that a) optimism predicted academic achievement via a direct path and a mediated path through test anxiety, b) perseverance predicted academic achievement solely through a direct pathway, and c) boys indicated a significantly higher value of optimism and a lower level of cognitive test anxiety when compared to girls. This study highlights the importance of optimism and perseverance for students. A key implication to education is that it may be essential to implement optimism interventions paired with perseverance interventions to achieve more effective results. Moreover, given the mediational role test anxiety plays, increasing optimism may also lead to reduced test anxiety and thus better academic performance.
Date Issued
2024
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal
Social Sciences & Humanities Open
DOI
10.1016/j.ssaho.2024.101196
Description
The open access publication is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2024.101196