Is emotional functioning related to academic achievement among university students? Results from a cross-sectional Iranian sample

Abstract

Objective: Whereas several studies have predicted academic achievement (AA) as a function of favorable cognitive factors and low negative emotional functioning (such as depression and anxiety), little is known about its associations with cognitive-emotional states of positive emotional functioning, such as social satisfaction. The present study sought to evaluate associations of AA with dimensions of negative and positive emotional functioning. Method: This cross-sectional study enrolled 275 students (mean age, 21.24 years; 66.1% females), who completed questionnaires covering sociodemographic parameters and AA scores, as well as measures of loneliness and depression (representing negative emotional functioning) and social satisfaction (representing positive emotional functioning). Results: Lower scores for negative and higher scores for positive emotional functioning were associated with higher AA scores. Multiple regression analysis showed that AA was predicted independently by both low negative and high positive emotional functioning. No gender differences were observed. Conclusions: The pattern of results observed in this study suggests that opposing dimensions of emotional functioning are independently related to AA. Students, educators, and health professionals dealing with students should focus both on increasing social satisfaction and on decreasing feelings of loneliness and depression.

A Structural Equation Model of Achievement Emotions, Coping Strategies and Engagement-Burnout in Undergraduate Students: A Possible Underlying Mechanism in Facets of Perfectionism

“…When considering academic stress, Clinical and Health Psychology give research priority to individual predictive or explanatory factors, such as personality variables, anxiety, and cognitive differences [10,11]. From the Educational Psychology perspective, however, academic stress can be considered a contextualized phenomenon within the learning process [12], especially in formal, high-pressure contexts.…”

The potential effect of depression on academic outcomes of students in higher educational institutions of northwest Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study

“…There is well established evidence that both psychoactive and depressant substance ultimately affect depressive symptoms. On the other hand, substance use also affects academic outcomes through the positive and negative emotions linked to use of such substances as reported in previous studies (Sadeghi Bahmani et al, 2018). Thus, the association between depressive symptoms and increased difficulty in learning process may be explained by positive and negative emotions linked to use of substance (Sadeghi Bahmani et al, 2018) and poor sleep quality (Al-Khani et al, 2019), loss of interest on common task and lack of attention linked to depression that may reduce the functioning of the individual.…”

“…This relatively high prevalence of depressive symptoms in the student population may be due age related emotional turmoil linked to search for identity. Depression during adolescence increased school dropouts (Boyraz et al, 2016); reduced cognition such as sustained attention; verbal memory and planning (Wagner et al, 2014); reduced neuropsychological functioning (Wagner et al, 2014) and reduced sleep quality (Al-Khani et al, 2019); and increased negative emotions and behavioral disorders and reduced social satisfaction (Sadeghi Bahmani et al, 2018) in the adolescent population. However, substance use is a common risk factor for both depression and poor academic outcomes (Alsanosy et al, 2013;Cummings et al, 2014;Ingles et al, 2013) and previous studies did not control substance use to investigate the independent effect of depression on academic outcomes.…”

Understanding the health risks in basic science medical students: a cross sectional survey

“…Stress has been found to impair both mental and physical health, greater the stress the greater the impairment (Sadeghi et al, 2018;Toussaint et al, 2014). Stress free lifestyle is known to have a major impact on the general health and academic performance of medical students.…”