Abstract
Past studies have predominantly focused on the direct associations between academic stress and student outcomes. The current study attempts to advance the extant literature by investigating the mediating role of academic exhaustion and the moderating role of the growth mindset of intelligence. We hypothesized that academic exhaustion would mediate the relationships of academic stress with negative affect and academic performance. We also hypothesized that the growth mindset of intelligence would buffer the indirect effects of academic stress on negative affect and academic performance via academic exhaustion. A total of 420 undergraduate students (263 female) aged from 17 to 24 years from Hong Kong completed an online questionnaire. The proposed moderated mediation model was analyzed using the latent moderated structural equations method. It was found that the effects of academic stress on negative affect and academic performance were significantly mediated by academic exhaustion. The direct effect of academic stress on academic exhaustion and the indirect effects of academic stress on negative affect and academic performance through academic exhaustion were significantly mitigated by the growth mindset of intelligence. The present findings unpack the mechanism through which academic stress influences student outcomes and the boundary conditions of the mechanism.
| Original language | English |
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| Publication status | Published - 3 Jul 2025 |
| Event | The 9th International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) World Congress on Positive Psychology - Queensland, Australia Duration: 2 Jul 2025 → 5 Jul 2025 https://ippaworldcongress.org/ |
Public Lecture
| Public Lecture | The 9th International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) World Congress on Positive Psychology |
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| Country/Territory | Australia |
| City | Queensland |
| Period | 2/07/25 → 5/07/25 |
| Internet address |