2026/07/22 by Thai-Ha Luong, Hoang-Khoi Nguyen, Huu-Phuoc Bui +1
Psychology · #Education, Achievement, and Giftedness #Grit, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation #Logistic regression #Regression #Regression analysis #Shadow (psychology) #Sport Psychology and Performance #Statistical analysis #Stress (linguistics)
paper · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2026.107477
published in Acta Psychologica 269, 107477 (Elsevier BV)
openalex publication_date 2026/07/22 · openalex created_date 2026/07/23 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/24
Inspired by the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping (TMSC), this study examines the "pressure funnel" mechanism through which family, peer, financial, and time stressors influence academic stress and learning orientation among 250 Vietnamese undergraduates, while investigating the "perception-reality gap" between subjective performance (Perceived Academic Performance, PAP; binary self-impact item) and objective performance (cumulative GPA; academic Rank). A multi-method analytic strategy was employed: covariance-based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM) for PAP and GPA outcomes, Binary Logistic Regression (BLR) for the dichotomous self-impact item, Ordinal Logistic Regression (OLR) for academic Rank, and bias-corrected bootstrap mediation tests (5000 resamples) for indirect pathways. Financial, time, and peer pressures operated primarily through Learning Environment Pressure (LEP), which functioned as the central primary-appraisal mediator; Family Stress directly hindered GPA. Surface learning orientation (LO) created a critical disconnect-inflating perceived performance deficit and reducing continuous GPA while, paradoxically, increasing the odds of higher institutional Rank, consistent with a short-term examination-survival function. In the BLR, LO and LEP were the sole significant predictors. In the OLR, LO and AS increased the cumulative odds of higher Rank, while LEP and TP decreased them. Theoretically, this study refines TMSC application to higher education by clarifying LEP's mediating role and the differential sensitivity of subjective versus objective outcomes to surface coping.