ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Study on the Mechanism of Dual Academic Research Pressure on Anxiety among Master's Students under an Involution Context: Evidence from a Survey of 46 Chinese Universities
Provisionally accepted
- 1Liaoning Technical University, Xingcheng, Huludao City, China
- 2Liaoning Technical University - Huludao Campus, Huludao, China
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Introduction: Under an involution context, and drawing on dual-pressure perception and related theories, the mechanism by which dual academic research pressures influence anxiety among Chinese master's students was examined. Methods: The Challenge–Hindrance Stress Scale, the Psychological Resilience Scale, and the Anxiety Perception Measurement Scale were employed. Using a multi-wave longitudinal tracking design, surveys were administered to over 2,000 enrolled master's students from 46 Chinese universities. SPSS PROCESS was used, with Bootstrap resampling set at 5,000 iterations, to test the proposed moderated dual-pathway mediation model. Results: Challenge-type research pressure was significantly positively correlated with facilitative anxiety (r=0.52, p<0.01) and significantly negatively correlated with inhibitory anxiety (r=-0.48, p<0.01). Hindrance-type research pressure was significantly negatively correlated with facilitative anxiety (r=-0.38, p<0.01) and significantly positively correlated with inhibitory anxiety (r=0.56, p<0.01). Achievement motivation mediated the relationships between challenge-type research pressure and both facilitative and inhibitory anxiety. Psychological resilience mediated the relationships between hindrance-type research pressure and both facilitative and inhibitory anxiety. A promotion-focused regulatory focus positively moderated the positive effect of challenge-type research pressure on achievement motivation. A prevention-focused regulatory focus negatively moderated the negative effect of hindrance-type research pressure on psychological resilience. The promotion-focused regulatory focus enhanced the indirect effect of "challenge-type research pressure →achievement motivation →facilitative anxiety". The prevention-focused regulatory focus negatively affected the indirect effect of "hindrance-type research pressure →psychological resilience →facilitative anxiety". Conclusion: Attention to postgraduate students' research pressures and anxiety necessitates targeted interventions at multiple levels, including universities, faculties, supervisors, and students themselves.
Keywords: dual academic research pressure among master's students, master's student anxiety, psychological resilience, achievement motivation, dual-pathway research
Received: 17 Jul 2025; Accepted: 03 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gao, Shang and NIU. 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: Tongcan Gao, 605809840@qq.com
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