Scholarlink

Background <p>Concerns have been raised about the impact of academic pressure on adolescents’ mental health. Growing evidence suggests that perceived academic pressure reflects the interaction between contextual demands and individual vulnerabilities, conceptualized as the convergence of biological, psychological, and environmental factors. Furthermore, the impact of achievement goals and school climate on perceived pressure has been highlighted. This study examined the association between perceived academic pressure and individual vulnerabilities, and the role of school climate and achievement goals.</p> Methods <p>This was a cross-sectional study. At nine schools in Piedmont, Italy, participation was proposed to all the students from the first year of middle school to the fourth year of high school (aged 10-17 years). Students completed self-reported questionnaires assessing perceived academic stress (10-point Likert scale), individual vulnerabilities (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, SDQ), school climate (Multidimensional School Climate Questionnaire, MSCQ), achievement goals (Achievement Goal Questionnaire-Revised, AGQ-R), and reported the number of school evaluations in the previous month as an indicator of objective academic pressure. Linear mixed-effect models examined the association between individual vulnerabilities and perceived academic stress, accounting for classroom clustering and adjusting for age, gender, school climate, and monthly evaluation number. Mediation analysis tested whether school climate mediated this association. Linear regressions tested associations between achievement goals and stress, and between vulnerabilities and school climate.</p> Results <p>A total of 889 students participated (58.7% female). Higher individual vulnerability (SDQ score) was associated with higher perceived academic stress (standardized β 0.24, p&lt;.001) and poorer perceived school climate (standardized β 0.26, p&lt;.001). The association between perceived pressure and vulnerabilities was stronger than that between perceived and objective pressure and was partially mediated by school climate (average causal mediation effect 0.11, p&lt;.0001). Perceived academic pressure resulted negatively associated with mastery-approach (standardized β -0.07, p=.033) and positively with performance-avoidance (standardized β 0.14, p=.002).</p> Conclusions <p>Perceived academic pressure is more strongly associated with individual vulnerabilities than with objective pressure, and is shaped by perceptions of school climate. Achievement goal orientations modulate this experience, with performance-avoidance and low mastery-approach representing potential risk factors. School-based interventions should address emotional vulnerabilities, motivational processes, and school climate to promote student well-being.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Perceived academic pressure and mental health in adolescents: a cross-sectional study examining individual vulnerabilities and school climate

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月3日

查看全文
  • Marta Borgogno,
  • Chiara Davico,
  • Benedetto Vitiello,
  • Andrea Martinuzzi,
  • Federica Silvia Ricci,
  • Federico Amianto,
  • Daniele Marcotulli

摘要

Background

Concerns have been raised about the impact of academic pressure on adolescents’ mental health. Growing evidence suggests that perceived academic pressure reflects the interaction between contextual demands and individual vulnerabilities, conceptualized as the convergence of biological, psychological, and environmental factors. Furthermore, the impact of achievement goals and school climate on perceived pressure has been highlighted. This study examined the association between perceived academic pressure and individual vulnerabilities, and the role of school climate and achievement goals.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study. At nine schools in Piedmont, Italy, participation was proposed to all the students from the first year of middle school to the fourth year of high school (aged 10-17 years). Students completed self-reported questionnaires assessing perceived academic stress (10-point Likert scale), individual vulnerabilities (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, SDQ), school climate (Multidimensional School Climate Questionnaire, MSCQ), achievement goals (Achievement Goal Questionnaire-Revised, AGQ-R), and reported the number of school evaluations in the previous month as an indicator of objective academic pressure. Linear mixed-effect models examined the association between individual vulnerabilities and perceived academic stress, accounting for classroom clustering and adjusting for age, gender, school climate, and monthly evaluation number. Mediation analysis tested whether school climate mediated this association. Linear regressions tested associations between achievement goals and stress, and between vulnerabilities and school climate.

Results

A total of 889 students participated (58.7% female). Higher individual vulnerability (SDQ score) was associated with higher perceived academic stress (standardized β 0.24, p<.001) and poorer perceived school climate (standardized β 0.26, p<.001). The association between perceived pressure and vulnerabilities was stronger than that between perceived and objective pressure and was partially mediated by school climate (average causal mediation effect 0.11, p<.0001). Perceived academic pressure resulted negatively associated with mastery-approach (standardized β -0.07, p=.033) and positively with performance-avoidance (standardized β 0.14, p=.002).

Conclusions

Perceived academic pressure is more strongly associated with individual vulnerabilities than with objective pressure, and is shaped by perceptions of school climate. Achievement goal orientations modulate this experience, with performance-avoidance and low mastery-approach representing potential risk factors. School-based interventions should address emotional vulnerabilities, motivational processes, and school climate to promote student well-being.