Emotional management and academic efficacy: the impact of emotional regulation strategies on academic performance among senior high school students

Abstract

This study employed a cross-sectional correlational design to investigate the relationship between test emotions, emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression), and academic self-efficacy in senior high school students, aiming to inform psychological counseling for college entrance exam preparation. The research questions were: (1) What are the levels of test emotions, cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, and academic self-efficacy among senior high school students? (2) How are these variables associated with academic self-efficacy? The research hypotheses were: (1) cognitive reappraisal would be positively correlated with academic self-efficacy; (2) expressive suppression would be positively correlated with academic self-efficacy but with a weaker relationship; (3) test emotions would not be significantly correlated with academic self-efficacy; (4) cognitive reappraisal would be the strongest correlate of academic self-efficacy. A questionnaire survey was administered to 139 senior high school students from five randomly selected classes in a key high school in China. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and regression analysis. Cronbach's α coefficients for the scales were 0.81 for test emotions, 0.84 for cognitive reappraisal, 0.79 for expressive suppression, and 0.86 for academic self-efficacy. The results revealed that: (1) Students scored highest on cognitive reappraisal (M=3.39), followed by academic self-efficacy (M=3.33), expressive suppression (M=2.95), and test emotions (M=2.78); (2) Cognitive reappraisal showed a significant strong positive correlation with academic self-efficacy (r=0.76, p< .01), while expressive suppression exhibited a moderate positive correlation (r=0.38, p< .01). The correlation between test emotions and academic self-efficacy was not significant (r=-0.07, p> .05); (3) Regression analysis indicated that cognitive reappraisal had a strong statistical predictive effect on academic self-efficacy (β=0.68, p< .001), and expressive suppression had a moderate predictive effect (β=0.21, p< .01). Conversely, the predictive effect of test emotions was not significant (β=-0.06, p> .05). In conclusion, emotion regulation strategies are associated with academic self-efficacy more strongly than the emotional experience itself, with cognitive reappraisal emerging as a core associated factor. Therefore, school psychological counseling should prioritize cultivating students' cognitive reappraisal abilities.