BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1496528
This article is part of the Research TopicPsychological Well-Being and Digitalization in EducationView all 28 articles
Mediation of Coping Style between Academic Self-Efficacy and Academic Stress in Middle School Students
Provisionally accepted
- 1School of Kinesiology and Health, Capital Institute of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing, China
- 2Hexi University, Zhangye, Gansu, China
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Objective To explore the mediating role of coping styles between academic self-efficacy and academic stress among middle school students and to provide insights into potential intervention strategies to alleviate academic stress. Methods A total of 2720 middle school students participated in the survey, which utilized the Academic Self-Efficacy Scale, Academic Pressure Scale, and Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire. The sample included 1336 boys (49.1%) and 1384 girls (50.9%), with ages ranging from 11 to 18 years and an average age of 14.48 ± 1.47 years. Results Academic stress was negatively correlated with academic self-efficacy and positive coping style (r=-0.37, -0.3, P<0.001), and positively correlated with negative coping style (r=0.32, P<0.001). Both coping styles significantly mediated the relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic stress, with positive and negative coping accounting for 47.38% and 18% of the total effect, respectively. Conclusion Academic self-efficacy has both direct and indirect effects on academic stress, with coping styles playing a critical mediating role. These findings suggest that fostering academic self-efficacy and encouraging positive coping strategies can effectively alleviate academic stress, providing insights for intervention programs aimed at promoting student well-being.
Keywords: middle school students1, Academic stress2, self-efficacy3, coping strategies4, mediation5
Received: 14 Sep 2024; Accepted: 08 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 sun, yan and wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: ling yan, School of Kinesiology and Health, Capital Institute of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing, 100191, China
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