INFLUENCE OF ACADEMIC STRESS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND LEARNING ENGAGEMENT AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPITAL AS A MEDIATOR
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Abstract
This research investigated the influence of academic stress on academic performance and learning engagement among undergraduate students with psychological capital as a mediator. The research population comprised Chiang Mai University undergraduate students who enrolled in the 2018 academic year. The research sample consisted of 874 undergraduate students obtained by proportional stratified random sampling. The research instruments consisted of a questionnaire on student’s personal data and cumulative grade point average, an academic stress assessment scale, a learning engagement assessment scale, and a psychological capital assessment scale, with reliability coefficients of .76, .91, and .94 respectively.
This research used statistical hierarchical multiple regression analysis with Model 4 of the Process Macro, and the bootstrap method to test the hypotheses. The results showed that psychological capital had a fully mediating role in the relationship between academic stress and academic performance of undergraduate students (p < .01). In addition, psychological capital had a partial mediating role in the relationship between academic stress and learning engagement of undergraduate students (p < .01). Furthermore, academic stress and psychological capital of undergraduate students could be combined to explain academic performance and learning engagement by 2 percent and 37 percent respectively. In conclusion, the findings of this research indicate that psychological capital is an important factor in helping students who are facing academic stress to achieve greater learning success and to increase their learning engagement.
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