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. 2019 Sep 18:10:2113.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02113. eCollection 2019.

Satisfaction of Basic Psychological Needs Leads to Better Academic Performance via Increased Psychological Capital: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study Among High School Students

Marcos Carmona-Halty  1 , Wilmar B Schaufeli  2   3 , Susana Llorens  4 , Marisa Salanova  4
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Free PMC article

Satisfaction of Basic Psychological Needs Leads to Better Academic Performance via Increased Psychological Capital: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study Among High School Students

Marcos Carmona-Halty et al. Front Psychol. .
Free PMC article

Abstract

This brief report proposes a model in which academic psychological capital (PsyCap) mediates between the satisfaction of student's basic psychological needs and their academic performance, as assessed by students' GPA. Participants were 407 adolescents, aged 12-18, recruited from three Chilean schools. Through structural equation modeling, direct and indirect effects were calculated. Results show that academic PsyCap (assessed at time 2) fully mediates the relationship between the satisfaction of basic psychological needs (assessed at time 1) and academic performance (assessed at time 3). This means that students whose basic psychological needs are satisfied at school experience more hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism (PsyCap), which, in turn, leads to better academic performance. Both theoretical and practical implications of the results are addressed, as well as strengths and weaknesses and directions for future research.

Keywords: GPA; academic PsyCap; academic performance; basic psychological needs; high school students.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Single mediation model shows the effect of basic psychological needs on academic performance through academic PsyCap. Standardized coefficients are presented. ∗∗ = p < 0.001; ns = non-significant effect.
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