高中生學業壓力與學業情緒之關聯：基本心理需求滿足與受挫雙元路徑之平行中介分析

Relationship between Academic Stress and Academic Emotions among High School Students: The Parallel Mediating Analysis of the Dual Pathways of Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration

本研究旨在了解臺灣地區高級中等學校學生學業壓力、學業情緒的關聯，並考驗基本心理需求滿足—受挫在學業壓力與學業情緒之間的平行中介效果。研究參與者為臺灣北、中、南各地區公私立高級中等學校之學生，共424人。本研究自編工具包含「學業壓力量表」、「學業情緒量表」和「基本心理需求量表」，採用Pearson積差相關與結構方程模型進行資料分析，並透過拔靴法（bootstrapping）檢驗平行中介效果。主要研究發現：（一）學業壓力與基本心理需求受挫及焦慮、羞恥、無望、挫折等學業情緒呈正相關，與基本心理需求滿足、希望情緒呈負相關。（二）基本心理需求滿足與喜悅、希望和自豪等學業情緒呈正相關，與焦慮、無望、羞恥和挫折等學業情緒呈負相關；基本心理需求受挫與喜悅、希望、自豪等學業情緒呈負相關，與焦慮、無望、羞恥、挫折等學業情緒呈正相關。（三）基本心理需求滿足在學業壓力與喜悅、無望的關聯之間有部分中介效果；與希望、自豪則是完全中介效果。（四）基本心理需求受挫在學業壓力與喜悅、無望、焦慮、羞恥及挫折的關聯之間有部分中介效果；與希望則是完全中介效果。本研究根據研究結果進行討論，並提出具體學術研究以及教育輔導工作之建議，以供未來相關研究及實務工作之參考。

In today’s knowledge-based economy, outstanding academic performance is key for students to access higher education opportunities and a prerequisite for a wide range of career choices. As educational attainment and workplace requirements rise, the pressure students face in relation to school has been further amplified (Högberg, 2021). A survey by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (2023) showed that approximately 80% of high school students in Taiwan aspire to obtain a university degree or higher, with schoolwork being the most troubling issue in their daily lives (45%). Disagreements between teenagers and parents mainly stem from academic and admission-related issues. Concurrently, 60% of students worry about poor academic performance, and 50% report that their mood for the entire day is affected by homework or exam results (Child Welfare League Foundation, 2023). The domestic surveys reflect that the majority of adolescents experience uncomfortable feelings during the learning process, indicating that this phenomenon is no longer an individual adaptation issue for students, but a pervasive concern among the adolescent population. Stress, anxiety, helplessness, and confusion have become inseparable companions to high school life.
In addition to examining domestic data, the latest 2021–2022 Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) survey by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2023) found that 15-year-olds have the poorest overall mental health, and as age increases, adolescents’well-being declines while physical and mental distress rises. Over the past two decades, a growing proportion of students in most European countries and Canada have been noticeably affected by academic stress, with an increasing rate of distress (Löfstedt et al., 2020). Numerous studies have demonstrated the close association between academic stress and mental health, substance use, sleep, and physical health (Pascoe et al., 2020). Thus, an in-depth exploration of the impacts of academic stress and its protective factors is an issue that cannot be overlooked in the fields of education and public health.
There is a wealth of research on academic stress and emotional distress. Many empirical studies have highlighted the correlation between stress and negative emotions such as anxiety and depression (e.g., Arsenio & Loria, 2014; Feiss et al., 2019; Santiago et al., 2017), focusing on how to buffer the physical and mental problems caused by stress. Social support, resilience, grit, self-efficacy, emotional regulation, and basic psychological needs have been found to be important process factors in this context (Çınar-Tanrıverdi & Karabacak-Çelik, 2023; Trevethan et al., 2022; Watson & Watson, 2016). However, few studies have carefully examined the relationship between academic stress and individuals’experiences of various discrete emotions in the learning process. In fact, academic emotions not only result from learning activities but also shape students’views of courses and teachers throughout the learning process, either facilitating or hindering subsequent learning (Camacho-Morles et al., 2021; Pekrun et al., 2002). Therefore, students’feelings during the learning process have long been a focus in educational psychology, especially since students spend a significant amount of time in learning environments daily, and their emotional experiences during this process are core elements constituting psychological well-being and health (Pekrun et al., 2023).
Previous research has indicated that academic emotions are closely related to variables such as goal structures, learning motivation, cognitive attribution strategies, and expectations of success (Hailikari et al., 2022; Huang & Cherng, 2021; Mao et al., 2008; Peng & Cherng, 2023; Zhang et al., 2021). Thus, to understand students’learning processes, academic emotions are an indispensable factor. However, past research on academic emotions has largely focused on specific emotions such as anxiety, anger, boredom and, enjoyment (Camacho-Morles et al., 2021), and tend to categorize emotions based on valence (positive and negative), lacking studies integrating more than three discrete emotions (Pekrun et al., 2023). Given the diverse nature of emotions in learning contexts (Pekrun et al., 2002) and the important functions of different emotions in shaping thoughts and actions (Pekrun et al., 2023), this study follows three-dimensional taxonomy of achievement emotions framework (Pekrun et al., 2023) to investigate the influencing factors of different academic emotions.
Among the various factors influencing academic emotions, basic psychological needs have emerged as a popular topic (Qian et al., 2022; Trigueros et al., 2019). According to self-determination theory, when psychological needs are satisfied, individuals can develop adaptive advantages. Conversely, when psychological needs are unfulfilled or frustrated, maladaptive ripple effects may occur. During adolescence, in particular, the developmental tasks of pursuing autonomy, defining social roles, and facing interpersonal issues correspond to the three basic psychological needs. Furthermore, research evidence has showed that school counseling interventions that satisfy basic psychological needs are an effective approach to cultivating positive attitudes and healthy emotions in adolescents (Arsenio & Loria, 2014; Li et al., 2016). Since the satisfaction and frustration of basic psychological needs are related to individuals’subjective experiences and internal responses in specific situations, they can explain the influence of social contextual factors on individuals (Vansteenkiste, 2020). Therefore, exploring the satisfaction and frustration of individuals’basic psychological needs provides insights into the possible process of emotional responses when facing stressful events. The process aligns well with Skinner’s (2023) integrated model of academic motivation, which posits that variables in an individual’s social environmental context influence their behavioral and academic emotional patterns through the operation of motivation-related self-systems (such as basic psychological needs and psychological resilience).
The role of basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration in Taiwanese adolescent populations, as well as the mechanism of basic psychological needs in academic contexts, has not been thoroughly investigated and urgently requires systematic analysis. This study collects empirical data to examine the current status of academic stress, basic psychological needs, and academic emotions among high school students in Taiwan. Based on the research findings, concrete and effective suggestions are proposed to assist high school students in effectively coping with academic stress, experiencing autonomy, competence, and positive interpersonal connections, and enjoying a fulfilling and happy campus life.
The main research findings are as follows: (1) High school students’academic stress was positively correlated with basic psychological need frustration and academic emotions such as anxiety, shame, hopelessness and frustration, and negatively correlated with basic psychological need satisfaction and hope; (2) basic psychological need satisfaction was positively correlated with joy, hope, and pride and negatively correlated with anxiety, hopelessness, shame, and frustration. Basic psychological needs frustration was negatively correlated with joy, hope, pride and positively correlated with anxiety, hopelessness, shame, and frustration; (3) basic psychological need satisfaction partially mediated the relationships between academic stress and joy as well as hopelessness, and fully mediated the relationships between academic stress and hope as well as pride; and (4) basic psychological need frustration partially mediated the relationships between academic stress and joy, hopelessness, anxiety, shame, and frustration, and fully mediated the relationship between academic stress and hope.
Limitations and recommendations for future research: (1) Expand the research sample to improve the generalizability of the findings; (2) adopt high-quality, concise measurement tools; (3) increase data sources by combining psychological and physiological measurements; (4) conduct longitudinal studies to evaluate the developmental trajectories and causal relationships between academic stress and academic emotions; (5) continue exploring the influencing factors of basic psychological needs and academic emotions; (6) investigate the impact of basic psychological need satisfaction-frustration on adolescents’learning processes; and (7) carefully consider the measurement methods of academic emotions based on research objectives.
Educational practice recommendations: (1) To enhance positive learning emotions in adolescents, the satisfaction of their basic psychological needs must be emphasized; (2) reduce learning and living environments that frustrate basic psychological needs, mitigating negative impacts on academic emotions; and (3) recognize the adverse effects of academic stress on the emotions of high school students.