I believe, therefore I achieve (and vice versa): A meta-analytic cross-lagged panel analysis of self-efficacy and academic performance

Abstract

Self-efficacy has long been viewed as an important determinant of academic performance. A counter-position is that self-efficacy is merely a reflection of past performance. Research in the area is limited by unidirectional designs which cannot address reciprocity or the comparative strength of directional effects. This systematic review and meta-analysis considered both directions of the relationship simultaneously, pooling data from longitudinal studies measuring both academic self-efficacy and academic performance over two waves. Pooled correlations (k = 11, N = 2688) were subjected to cross-lagged path analysis that provided support for a reciprocal effects model. Performance had a net positive effect on subsequent self-efficacy (β = 0.205, p < 0.001), significantly larger than the effect of self-efficacy on performance (β = 0.071, p < 0.001). Moderator analyses indicated that reciprocity holds for adults, but not for children (in whom performance uniquely impacts subsequent self-efficacy beliefs, but not the reverse). Cross-lagged effects were stronger in studies which used methodologies consistent with recommendations of self-efficacy theorists.