Psychological suzhi and academic achievement in Chinese adolescents: A 2‐year longitudinal study
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In the Chinese educational system, there has been an ongoing debate between using examination- or quality-oriented education. The Chinese concept of psychological suzhi was proposed based on quality-oriented education, and a positive link between psychological suzhi and academic achievement was found by cross-sectional studies; however, studies examining their longitudinal relationship are still lacking. AIMS: To examine the longitudinal trajectories of Chinese adolescents' academic achievement and the longitudinal effects of psychological suzhi on academic achievement trajectories. SAMPLE: = 14.85 years, 51.1% male) in grades 7 and 10, from 10 secondary schools in southwest China. METHOD: A 2-year (four-wave) longitudinal study was conducted, and growth mixture models were used to analyse the data. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Four distinct developmental trajectories of academic achievement were identified (i.e., high-positive growth, middle-negative growth, low-stable, and lowest-stable) that were significantly predicted by different levels of psychological suzhi, particularly the dimension of cognitive quality. Cognitive quality was strongly associated with the initial academic achievement values in the high-positive growth group and linked to achievement rate (decreasing) in the middle-negative growth group. However, individuality quality and adaptability quality had a buffering effect on the rate of achievement decreasing in the middle-negative growth group. This study not only highlighted the promotive role of high cognitive quality on high levels of achievement (static) but also indicated the protective role of non-cognitive factors (i.e., individuality and adaptability) against a decreasing rate of academic achievement (dynamic).
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Individuals with low psychological suzhi are at risk of developing psychological and behavioral problems, such as social anxiety, depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, bullying, and problematic behavior.
“In contrast, those with low psychological suzhi are at risk of developing psychological and behavioral problems, such as social anxiety, depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, bullying, and problematic behavior [9,13,17,19,21,22].”
From Forgiveness as a Mediator between Psychological Suzhi and Prosocial Behavior in Chinese Adolescents (2022) · cites this paper as [17]
Psychological suzhi is a relatively stable variable that does not change easily over a short period and has a continuous effect on adolescent development.
“Psychological suzhi has shown to be a relatively stable variable that does not change easily over a short period and has a continuous effect on adolescent development [11,15,17].”
From Forgiveness as a Mediator between Psychological Suzhi and Prosocial Behavior in Chinese Adolescents (2022) · cites this paper as [17]
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- Authors
- Nie, Q., Teng, Z., Yang, C., Lu, X., Liu, C., Zhang, D., & Guo, C.
- Affiliations
- Southwest University (CN)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
- Chongqing Bachuan Quantum Middle School Chongqing China
- Sichuan Institute of Education Sciences Chengdu China
- Corresponding author
- Nie, Qian
- Zhang, Dajun
- Guo, Cheng
- Venue
- British Journal of Educational Psychology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2020-10-29
- Volume
- 91
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 638-657
- ISSN
- 0007-0998 (ISSN-L)
- 2044-8279
- OpenAlex
- W3097385040
- Cited by
- 24
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 1.21
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- British Journal of Educational Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (SWU1909566, SWU1909106)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
- Social Sciences › Education › Educational Outcomes and Influences
- Social Sciences › Education › Early Childhood Education and Development
- Keywords
- academic performance, Chinese adolescents, quality-oriented education, cognitive quality, achievement trajectories, non-intellectual factors, exam-oriented education, growth mixture modeling
- MeSH terms
- Academic Success, Adolescent, China, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Schools
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