Predicting Associate Degree Students’ Psychological Stress Levels with Self-perceptions of Failure, Academic Performance and Grit
Wincy Win-sze LEE
The Education University of Hong Kong
Ada Pui-ling CHAN, Joseph Chi-ho SO & Alvin Yau-tak WONG
Hong Kong Community College, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
The issue of psychological stress is relevant to associate degree students, as most have experienced academic disappointment in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) examination, and the intense competition to get places in university (Kember, 2010). However, most of the public concern and research efforts have only focused on the articulation rate of associate degree graduates (Lee, 2014), and their psychological well-being during their study is relatively under-examined.
The present study aimed to examine the factors contributing to associate degree students’ psychological stress levels. Specifically, we asked whether it is the actual academic performance or the psychological interpretation of it that contributes to students’ psychological stress. Also, we questioned whether the notion of academic perseverance (Grit), which is grounded and popular in western studies, will either help to alleviate or increase psychological stress in Chinese college students.
Three hundred and forty-five associate degree students from a community college in Hong Kong were invited to fill out a questionnaire voluntarily at the beginning of academic year. The questionnaire consists of 24 items on a 5-point Likert scale; 12 measure Grit (Duckworth, 2001); 10 measure global psychological stress (Cohen, Kamarck, Memelstein, 1983), and one their perceived levels of failure. The students’ self-reported DSE scores were also obtained.
Regression analysis showed that students’ psychological stress levels were significantly predicted by self-perceived failure in DSE, and the two dimensions of grit (interest and perseverance), but not the self-reported DSE scores. These results highlight the importance of students’ interpretation of academic failure but not the actual performance in contributing to psychological stress. Efforts can be made to introduce intervention into induction programs, to help students understand and interpret their prior academic disappointments and failures constructively. Furthermore, the idea of academic grit, which has received much attention in western studies, may not seem to be all-positive to Hong Kong Chinese college students, as it seems to be related to higher psychological stress levels. Further replication and investigation is needed to unravel the cultural nuances of this construct.
References
Cohen, S., Kamarch, T., Memelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 385-396.
Duckworth, A.L. & Quinn, P.D. (2010). Development and validation of the short Grit-scale (Grit-S). Journal of Personality Assessment, 91(2), 166-174.
Education Bureau (2015). A eBook on student suicide for schools: Early detection, intervention and postvention. Educational Psychology Service Section Special Education & Kindergarten Education Division.
Kember, D. (2010). Opening up the road to nowhere: problems with the path to mass higher education in Hong Kong, Higher Education, 59, 167-179.
Lee, W.W.S. (2014). Opening Up a Road to Somewhere: Associate Degree Students' Generic Capabilities Development in Hong Kong. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 33(5), 607-624.