Achievement Goal Orientations and Adolescents’ Subjective Well-Being in School: The Mediating Roles of Academic Social Comparison Directions

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the multiple mediational roles of academic social comparison directions (upward academic social comparison and downward academic social comparison) on the relationships between achievement goal orientations (i.e., mastery goals, performance-approach goals, and performance-avoidance goals) and subjective well-being (SWB) in school (school satisfaction, school affect) in adolescent students in China. A total of 883 Chinese adolescent students (430 males; Mean age = 12.99) completed a multi-measure questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the hypotheses. Results indicated that (1) mastery goal orientations and performance-approach goal orientations both showed a statistically significant, positive correlation with SWB in school whereas performance-avoidance goal orientations showed a statistically significant, negative correlation with SWB in school among adolescents; (2) upward academic social comparisons mediated the relation between the three types of achievement goal orientations (i.e., mastery goals, performance-approach goals, and performance-avoidance goals) and SWB in school; (3) downward academic social comparisons mediated the relation between mastery goal orientations and SWB in school as well as the relation between performance-avoidance goal orientations and SWB in school. The findings suggest possible important cultural differences in the antecedents of SWB in school in adolescent students in China compared to adolescent students in Western nations.

Adolescents’ Life Satisfaction: The Role of Classroom, Family, Self-Concept and Gender

“…In fact, family climate has a direct and positive relationship with LS, which confirms a part of the first hypothesis proposed. This result is consistent with previous research highlighting the close link between parent-child relations and psychosocial adjustment [32,38,51]. A socio-family environment in which the members feel close ties of affective cohesion, where adolescents can openly express their opinions, emotions, and behaviours to their parents without being judged, and where there are no major sources of conflict favours youths' self-perception of subjective well-being, happiness, and LS.…”

“…Family climate refers to the psychosocial and institutional family characteristics and its settings [34] and can be conceptualized as the perception and interpretation of the inner world of the family and its relationships [35]. A positive family climate promotes cohesion [30], support, trust, and closeness among family members, favouring empathic and open family communication dynamics [36,37], and offers psychosocial resources to adolescents for the construction of a healthy self-concept [36,38].…”

Are Satisfied Student Can Develop Their Employability Better ?

“…The findingis in line with several previous studies that investigated the contribution of school satisfaction as well as the dimensions associated with the ability of the students to be able to develop himself both of academic and other performance (Park, 2004;Tian et al, 2017;Whitley et al, 2012).…”

“…A. Baker, 1998;Baker et al, 2003;King, Huebner, Suldo, & Valois, 2007;Liu, Tian, Scott Huebner, Zheng, & Li, 2014;Tian, Yu, & Huebner, 2017;Whitley, Huebner, Hills, & Valois, 2012).…”

“…Students' definition affects their views as individuals and 295 as students about their goals. Students who are satisfied with the school are likely to have a strong target orientation and desire to develop (Tian et al, 2017). This willingness encourages them to achieve the goal to continue developing and setting a target to become employable graduates.…”