Growth mindset and school burnout symptoms in young adolescents: the role of vagal activity as potential mediator

Parents’ Behavioural Control Affects Chinese College Students’ School Burnout and Perceived Employment Stress: Different Effects via Self-Oriented, Other-Oriented, and Socially Prescribed Perfectionism

School burnout and perceived employment stress are worried mental health issues for Chinese college students. Guided by the Job Demands-Resources model, this study examined the effects of solicitation and restriction on college students’ school burnout and perceived employment stress, and explored the mediating roles of self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed perfectionism (SOP, OOP, and SPP) in the context of Chinese culture. Using a two-wave longitudinal design, the data were self-reported by 3,720 college students. The results of structural equation models indicated that solicitation negatively predicted school burnout and perceived employment stress, while restriction had a positive prediction. SOP, OOP, and SPP played mediating roles. Solicitation and restriction predicted the three types of perfectionism. OOP and SPP served as risk factors for school burnout and perceived employment stress, whereas SOP played a protective role. These findings helped us better understand and intervene in the psychological health issues of college students.

Examination of the validity of the Chinese version of the Language Mindsets Inventory among Chinese university students

Introduction

With the growing interest in the psychological basis of language learning, this study aims to validate the Chinese version of the Language Mindset Inventory (LMI) among Chinese university students.

Methods

A sample of 476 students from various universities in mainland China was used. The translation process followed the forward-backward method. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were conducted to evaluate the factor structure. The internal consistency of the LMI was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, and convergent validity was examined through correlations with established mindset measures.

Results

Compared with the one-factor model, the two-factor model which distinguishes between fixed and growth mindsets, showed an acceptable and better fit index. The overall Cronbach's alpha for the full scale was 0.954, with 0.929 for the fixed mindset dimension and 0.903 for the growth mindset dimension. AVE values for the fixed and growth dimensions were 0.597 and 0.510, respectively. Correlations showed that the growth mindset dimension was significantly positively associated with the 8-Item Growth Mindset Scale (r = 0.186, p < 0.01) and the Mindset Scale for Learning English (r = 0.149, p < 0.01), while the fixed mindset dimension was negatively associated with both scales (r = -0.228 and r = -0.169, p < 0.01).

Discussion

This study confirms the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the LMI, making it a relevant tool for assessing language learning mindsets among Chinese university students. The findings support the integration of LMI into educational strategies to promote resilience and adaptability, enhancing language education outcomes.

Mindset profiles of secondary school students: Associations with academic achievement, motivation and school burnout symptoms

BACKGROUND

According to Dweck's mindset theory, implicit beliefs (a.k.a. mindset) have an organizing function, bringing together mindset, achievement goals and effort beliefs in a broader meaning system. Two commonly described meaning systems are a growth-mindset meaning system with mastery goals and positive effort beliefs, and a fixed-mindset meaning system with performance goals and negative effort beliefs.

AIMS

Because of assumed heterogeneity within these two meaning systems, we aim to (1) examine multiple-mindset profiles based on mindset, achievement goals and effort beliefs, by using a data-driven person-oriented approach, and (2) relate these different profiles to several outcome measures (academic achievement, motivation and school burnout symptoms).

SAMPLE

Self-report questionnaire data were collected from 724 students (11.0-14.7 y.o.; 46.7% girl; 53.3% boy; Mage = 12.8 y.o.).

METHODS

Latent profile analysis was conducted using mindset, achievement goals and effort beliefs.

RESULTS

Four profiles were revealed: one fixed-mindset profile and three growth-mindset profiles, which differed in their performance goal levels (low, moderate and high). Growth-mindset students with low- or moderate-performance goals had more advantageous outcomes, for example, higher math grades and lower school burnout symptoms, compared to growth-mindset students with high-performance goals. Fixed-mindset students had the least advantageous outcomes, for example, lower grades, less intrinsic motivation and more school burnout symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study emphasizes the importance of taking a holistic approach when examining mindset meaning systems, revealing the importance of the level of performance goals and including multiple academic outcomes.

Changes in physiological arousal during an arithmetic task: profiles of elementary school students and their associations with mindset, task performance and math grade

Task-related change in physiological arousal is suggested to reflect active involvement with the task. While studies often examine such task-related changes in arousal as averaged across the entire task, the present study focused on temporal changes in arousal during a task. More specifically, we investigated changes in elementary school students' physiological arousal during an arithmetic task and associations between these changes and students' mindset, performance on the task, and math grades. We used a person-oriented approach to analyze the tonic electrodermal activity of 86 fourth graders, recorded while they were working on an arithmetic task. With model-based clustering of students' on-task electrodermal activity, we identified three groups of students with differing temporal dynamics of physiological arousal during the task: Increasing Arousal, Decreasing Arousal and Decreasing and Increasing Arousal. The Decreasing Arousal profile contained more students classified as holding a Fixed Mindset Tendency than would be expected if physiological profile membership and mindset tendency were independent. The Increasing Arousal profile performed better on the task than the Decreasing Arousal profile. No association was found with math grades. These results provide a new insight into individual differences in temporal patterns of on-task physiological arousal.