Coping strategies and academic motivation: The mediating effect of achievement emotions

Abstract

The current study seeks to determine whether different achievement emotions (positive and negative) mediate the relationship between coping strategies (proactive and preventive coping) and academic motivation in a representative sample of the Czech adult population (N= 1,025). A cross-sectional research design featuring path analysis was used to explore the mediated effects of theoretical models. The results revealed that positive achievement emotions (i.e. enjoyment, hope, and pride) work well as moderators between positively future-oriented coping behavior and motivation to study. However, model ft, including mediating role of negative achievement emotions (i.e. anger, anxiety, shame, hopelessness, and boredom) as moderators, was very poor. Moreover, the measurement invariance of the data-ftting model of positive emotions indicated that the same construct was being measured across gender and age groups. Finally, implications of the fndings regarding mental health promotion, limitations of the study, and future research are discussed. © 2021, International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy. All rights reserved.