Are effects of academic stress on students' learning motivation and screen device usage consistent in different stressful scenarios?

Abstract

As college enrollment increases and employment decreases during recent years in China, college students endeavor for academic performance which is highly valued by the local job market. In the highly competitive social environment of China, students are overwhelmed by academic stress. This study probes into the influence of academic stress on learning motivations and screen-device addictions, and proposes a conceptual framework from a stress-centered perspective. The proposed framework is modeled by structural equations involving two samples of college students. Data were collected in two waves using convenience sampling, spaced one year apart. A total of 704 undergraduates in China participated in this study, and the results show that both academic expectations and perceptions of exams had inconsistent effects across two surveys, and that both academic self-concept and perceptions of workload had consistent effects across two surveys. This study contributes to a better understanding of how academic stress influences undergraduates' learning motivation and screen device usage, and its findings not only highlight the critical roles of self-concept in learning, but also reveal students' consistent dependency on screen devices in different stressful scenarios.