Roles of Internal Locus of Control and Grit in Managing the Academic Stress of Senior High School Students in Southern Luzon State University

Abstract

Any individual who transitions through different stages of life inevitably experience stress, especially adolescents who undergo physiological and psychological changes. This is the stage where they have to make relevant decisions including the academic courses they have to take for their future career. The overwhelming expectations that they are experiencing from their family, teachers and society to excel academically have been shown to cause distress among adolescents. It is, therefore, becomes imperative to study possible protective factors to formulate efficient intervention techniques. Two of the most studied constructs that have been linked to academic success are internal locus of control and grit. However, limited research has been conducted to investigate these two constructs with academic stress, especially among Filipino adolescents. The current study explored the roles of internal locus of control and grit in managing academic stress. A sample of 165 senior high school students from Southern Luzon State University-Main Campus was involved in this study. Results showed that both grit and internal locus of control are negatively correlated with academic stress. It was also shown that grit is positively associated with an internal locus of control although one is not a predictor of another.

The The Effect of Locus of Control on Academic Grit in Final Year Students

“…Individuals with internal LoC have a higher level of academic grit than individuals with external LoC. Similar results were also found by Quing & Baudin (2021), that there is a positive relationship between internal LoC and grit. This means, when the internal LoC increases, the grit level will also increase.…”

The mechanisms of student grit at the height of a major crisis: Identifying key predictors when times get really tough

“…Together with personality, another key factor was locus of control and its association with grit, where our current understanding of this relationship remains scarce (Çelik & Sariçam, 2018 ; Quing & Baudin, 2021 ). Those with an internal locus of control examine, evaluate and adaptively meet challenging tasks, while an external of locus of control have a propensity to evade such challenges, are unable to cope and have a predisposition to use emotion to cope (Groth et al., 2019 ; Krampe et al., 2021 ).…”

“…Locus of control is associated with the belief regarding if outcomes are influenced by individual actions or by external forces that individuals cannot or are less likely to control (Quing & Baudin, 2021 ). Thus, we posit that prior to the pandemic in 2019, the higher the levels of internal locus control, the greater the positive impact it has on the perseverance of effort.…”

“…In this sense, those students with higher levels of internal locus of control at the commencement of pandemic were more likely to lead to higher consistency of interest among students. However, at the time these outcomes have been demonstrated to be contingent on a student's own actions rather than external forces, such as chance or the influence of others (Çelik & Sariçam, 2018 ; Quing & Baudin, 2021 ). After the height of the pandemic, locus of control does not appear in the 2021 model, suggesting that regardless of students having an internal or external locus of control, this does not have an impact on the two constructs of grit within the model.…”

“…In this sense, those students with higher levels of internal locus of control at the commencement of pandemic were more likely to lead to higher consistency of interest among students. However, at the time these outcomes have been demonstrated to be contingent on a student's own actions rather than external forces, such as chance or the influence of others (Çelik & Sariçam, 2018;Quing & Baudin, 2021).…”