📄 social_science

Academic Performance and Its Association with Self-Efficacy and Academic Resilience among High School Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study

This cross-sectional study of 356 high school students in Tabriz, Iran, reveals that academic self-efficacy and academic resilience are significant positive predictors of academic performance, alongside factors such as gender, age, and family income, collectively explaining 45.4% of the variance in student grades.

Original authors: Zahra Jalili, farnaz Rahmani, Saeed Musavi, Maryam Vahidi

Published 2026-07-09

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CC BY 4.0

Original authors: Zahra Jalili, farnaz Rahmani, Saeed Musavi, Maryam Vahidi

Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ✨ This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer

The Big Picture: The "Academic Engine"

Imagine a high school student's life as a car driving up a very steep, rocky mountain. The destination is a good grade (the top of the mountain). This study, conducted in Tabriz, Iran, looked at 356 teenagers (ages 16–18) to figure out what actually helps the car get to the top.

The researchers wanted to know: Is it just about having a powerful engine (intelligence)? Or is it about having a good driver who believes they can make it (self-efficacy) and a suspension system that handles the bumps without breaking (resilience)?

They found that believing in yourself and bouncing back from setbacks are two of the most powerful fuel sources for getting good grades, even more so than just raw talent.

The Ingredients: What They Measured

To understand the "drive," the researchers checked three main things:

The Scoreboard (Academic Performance): They looked at the students' actual report cards (GPA). In Iran, grades go from 0 to 20. The average student in this study had a score of about 14.2.
The "I Can Do It" Meter (Self-Efficacy): This measures how much a student believes they are capable of succeeding. Think of this as the driver's confidence in their own hands. The researchers used a survey called the Morgan-Jinks Student Efficacy Scale to measure this.
The "Shock Absorbers" (Academic Resilience): This is the ability to keep going when things go wrong. If a student gets a bad grade or has a stressful week, do they crash, or do they adjust and keep driving? This was measured using the Academic Resilience Inventory.

The Findings: What Actually Moves the Car?

1. Confidence and Bouncing Back are Key
The study found a strong link between the "I Can Do It" meter and the "Shock Absorbers" and the final score on the report card.

The Analogy: Imagine two students. Student A has a great engine but thinks they are a bad driver and gives up at the first pothole. Student B has a decent engine but believes they can handle the road and knows how to steer through the bumps. The study suggests Student B is more likely to reach the top.
The Data: Both confidence and resilience were significant predictors. If a student's resilience score went up by just one point, their grade went up slightly. It's a steady, reliable boost.

2. The "Who" Matters: Girls and Older Kids

Gender: The study found that female students, on average, had higher grades than male students. It's like the female drivers in this specific group were slightly more consistent at navigating the mountain road.
Age: Older students (17 and 18 years old) performed better than the younger ones (16). As the drivers get a bit more experience on the road, they seem to handle the climb better.

3. The Fuel Tank: Family Income

Students who felt their families had "good" money tended to get better grades than those who felt their families were "poor."
The Analogy: Think of family income as the quality of the fuel. Better fuel (more resources, less stress at home, better tutoring) helps the car run smoother. However, the study showed that even if you have "okay" fuel, having a great driver (confidence) and good shock absorbers (resilience) can still get you far.

What the Study Did NOT Say

It is important to stick to what the paper actually found:

It's a Snapshot, Not a Movie: This study took a picture of the students at one specific moment (June–July 2025). It cannot prove that confidence caused the grades, only that they happened together. It's possible that getting good grades makes you feel more confident, rather than the other way around.
It's Self-Reported: The students filled out the surveys themselves. Sometimes, people who get good grades might just say they feel more confident, even if they don't.
It's Specific to Iran: The study was done in Tabriz, Iran, where students face a specific, high-pressure university entrance exam (the Konkour). The "mountain" they are climbing is very steep and specific to that culture.

The Bottom Line

The researchers concluded that for high school students, psychological strength is just as important as academic ability.

If you want a student to succeed, you can't just teach them math; you also need to help them build their "shock absorbers" (so they don't break when they fail) and their "confidence meter" (so they believe they can drive). The study suggests that schools should focus on teaching students how to manage stress and set goals, because these tools help students climb the academic mountain, regardless of their background.

Technical Summary: Academic Performance and Its Association with Self-Efficacy and Academic Resilience among High School Adolescents

Problem Statement
Adolescence is a critical developmental period characterized by biological, cognitive, and emotional changes that influence an individual's ability to handle academic and personal challenges. High school students in Iran, particularly those in Tabriz, face significant academic pressure due to competitive examination systems (such as the Konkour university entrance exam) and developmental transitions. While mental health factors like academic self-efficacy and academic resilience are theoretically linked to educational outcomes, there is a need to clarify how these psychological resources jointly influence academic performance within the specific context of Iranian high school adolescents. Furthermore, discrepancies exist in how teachers and students attribute academic failure, highlighting the necessity of understanding these determinants from the students' perspectives.

Methodology
This study employed an analytical, observational, cross-sectional design adhering to STROBE guidelines.

Participants: The study recruited 356 high school students (grades 10–12) from five educational districts in Tabriz, Iran, during the 2024 academic year. Participants were selected via stratified random sampling. Inclusion criteria required students to be aged 16–18 and living with both parents; those with chronic physical or psychiatric illnesses were excluded.
Measures:
- Academic Performance: Measured using the students' Grade Point Average (GPA) on the Iranian 0–20 scale, obtained from school records.
- Academic Self-Efficacy: Assessed using the Morgan-Jinks Student Efficacy Scale (MJSES), a 30-item self-report instrument based on Bandura's social cognitive theory, rated on a 4-point Likert scale (scores 30–120). The Persian translation demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's $\alpha$ = 0.83).
- Academic Resilience: Assessed using the Academic Resilience Inventory (ARI), a 30-item self-report tool (scores 30–150) measuring the ability to manage academic setbacks.
- Demographics: A self-administered questionnaire collected data on age, gender, birth order, family income status (self-rated as poor, fair, or good), and parental education/occupation.
Data Analysis: Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics (v23.0). Descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficients were used for bivariate analysis. A multiple linear regression model was constructed to identify significant predictors of academic performance, controlling for demographic variables.

Key Results

Descriptive Statistics: The mean age of participants was 17.2 years (SD = 2.8), with 52.7% female. The mean academic performance was 14.2 (SD = 2.8), with 54.2% of students achieving "acceptable" scores. Mean scores for academic self-efficacy and resilience were 59.3 (SD = 9.1) and 69.7 (SD = 12.4), respectively.
Correlations: Both academic self-efficacy ( $r = 0.39, p < 0.001$ ) and academic resilience ( $r = 0.47, p < 0.001$ ) showed significant, moderate positive correlations with academic performance.
Regression Analysis: A multiple linear regression model explained 45.4% of the variance in academic performance ( $R^2 = 0.454, p < 0.001$ $R^{2} = 0.454, p < 0.001$ ). Significant positive predictors included:
- Academic Resilience: $\beta = 0.097, p < 0.001$ .
- Academic Self-Efficacy: $\beta = 0.084, p < 0.001$ .
- Gender: Female students performed significantly better than males ( $\beta = 0.549, p = 0.007$ ).
- Age: Older students (17 and 18 years) performed better than 16-year-olds ( $p < 0.05$ for both).
- Family Income: Students perceiving their family income as "good" had higher performance than those perceiving it as "poor" ( $\beta = 0.572, p = 0.007$ ).

Key Contributions
The study provides empirical evidence that academic self-efficacy and academic resilience are robust, independent predictors of academic performance among Iranian high school adolescents, even after controlling for demographic factors and family income.

It validates Bandura's social cognitive theory within this specific cultural context, demonstrating that self-efficacy exerts a direct influence on current academic outcomes beyond past achievement.
It highlights that psychological strengths (resilience and self-efficacy) contribute to achievement across all socioeconomic strata, though perceived income remains a significant factor.
The study identifies specific demographic patterns, noting that female students and older adolescents (17–18 years) tend to achieve higher GPAs in this sample.

Significance and Claims
The authors claim that fostering academic self-efficacy and resilience is essential for improving educational outcomes and supporting the psychological well-being of adolescents. The findings suggest that schools can enhance student performance by implementing interventions that target these psychological traits, such as goal-setting, stress management, cognitive reappraisal, and constructive feedback.

The study emphasizes that while socioeconomic factors (like family income) influence performance, psychological resources remain critical drivers of success. Consequently, the authors argue for the integration of social-emotional learning and resilience training into school curricula, particularly for students facing high-stakes examinations.

Limitations
The authors acknowledge several limitations:

Causality: The cross-sectional design precludes causal inference; reverse causation (where performance influences self-efficacy) cannot be ruled out.
Self-Report Bias: Except for GPA, all measures were self-reported, potentially introducing common-method bias.
Income Measurement: Family income was measured via subjective perception rather than objective metrics.
Generalizability: The exclusion of students with chronic illnesses or those not living with both parents limits the generalizability of findings to these populations.
Unmeasured Variables: Teacher-related, school-level, and peer influences were not assessed.

The paper concludes that while these psychological traits are strong predictors, future longitudinal research is needed to establish temporal precedence and further explore the mechanisms linking these factors to academic success.