Peer Climate Matters for Academic Motivation and Student Functioning in Higher Education

James Adie*, Daniel Waldeck, David J. Hughes, Mairi Mulvenna, Andrew Holliman, Kimberley Bartholomew, (Frederick) Christian Owen Higton

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The current study tested a sequence of hypothesized relationships between the perceived peer-created learning environment, academic motivation, and indices of student functioning in a Higher Education setting. Utilizing a sample of 172 undergraduate psychology students, our findings revealed that a perceived peer autonomy supportive climate was a significant positive predictor of self-determined motivation. In turn, higher levels of self-determined motivation were strongly related with higher levels of engagement, and lower levels of burnout symptoms among the participants. Indirect effects were also found concerning the mediational role of self-determined motivation. The findings point towards the theoretical and practical significance of peer influence for fostering optimal academic motivation and healthy functioning among students in Higher Education.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1685–1702
Number of pages18
JournalInternational Journal of Applied Positive Psychology
Volume9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 25 Sept 2024

Data Access Statement

Due to ethical restrictions, the data generated by the survey research and analyzed during the current study is kept under password protection on the Open Science Framework, (OSF; https://osf.io/thjsz). Interested researchers wanting to access the data must do so as a reasonable request to the corresponding author ([email protected]) in order to retrieve the password.

Keywords

  • peer autonomy support
  • self-determination
  • student motivation
  • student functioning
  • well-being
  • higher education

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