Intrapersonal strengths and interpersonal support: predicting academic buoyancy through psychological capital and growth mindset

IntroductionThis mixed-methods study, situated within the framework of personality and social psychology, examines the interplay of psychological capital, social support, and growth mindset in predicting academic buoyancy among undergraduate English majors across three universities in mainland China...

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Main Authors: Gui Xiao, Huifang Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-07-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1584343/full
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author Gui Xiao
Huifang Liu
author_facet Gui Xiao
Huifang Liu
author_sort Gui Xiao
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionThis mixed-methods study, situated within the framework of personality and social psychology, examines the interplay of psychological capital, social support, and growth mindset in predicting academic buoyancy among undergraduate English majors across three universities in mainland China.MethodsIn the quantitative phase, established instruments were utilized to assess direct and mediated relationships among 516 undergraduate English majors, analyzed via structural equation modeling. The qualitative phase involved semi-structured interviews with 18 students to offer richer insights into these dynamics, analyzed using thematic analysis.ResultsThe quantitative analysis revealed that psychological capital and social support significantly and directly predict academic buoyancy (β = 0.413 and β = 0.341, respectively, p < 0.001). Furthermore, growth mindset was identified as a significant mediating variable in these associations (indirect effects: β = 0.098 and β = 0.126, p < 0.001). The proposed model accounted for 51% of the variance in academic buoyancy. Thematic analysis of qualitative data identified four core themes: navigating academic challenges, leveraging a growth mindset, the protective influence of social support, and the development of psychological capital.DiscussionStudent narratives provided vivid accounts of overcoming academic obstacles, illustrating the mechanisms by which psychological capital and social support enhance adaptive beliefs and academic buoyancy. The findings underscore the importance of interventions designed to strengthen psychological capital, cultivate growth mindsets, and enhance social support networks within educational contexts.
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spelling doaj-art-c7aeb7b49d734274b64b82cd26819f962025-08-20T02:40:02ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-07-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.15843431584343Intrapersonal strengths and interpersonal support: predicting academic buoyancy through psychological capital and growth mindsetGui XiaoHuifang LiuIntroductionThis mixed-methods study, situated within the framework of personality and social psychology, examines the interplay of psychological capital, social support, and growth mindset in predicting academic buoyancy among undergraduate English majors across three universities in mainland China.MethodsIn the quantitative phase, established instruments were utilized to assess direct and mediated relationships among 516 undergraduate English majors, analyzed via structural equation modeling. The qualitative phase involved semi-structured interviews with 18 students to offer richer insights into these dynamics, analyzed using thematic analysis.ResultsThe quantitative analysis revealed that psychological capital and social support significantly and directly predict academic buoyancy (β = 0.413 and β = 0.341, respectively, p < 0.001). Furthermore, growth mindset was identified as a significant mediating variable in these associations (indirect effects: β = 0.098 and β = 0.126, p < 0.001). The proposed model accounted for 51% of the variance in academic buoyancy. Thematic analysis of qualitative data identified four core themes: navigating academic challenges, leveraging a growth mindset, the protective influence of social support, and the development of psychological capital.DiscussionStudent narratives provided vivid accounts of overcoming academic obstacles, illustrating the mechanisms by which psychological capital and social support enhance adaptive beliefs and academic buoyancy. The findings underscore the importance of interventions designed to strengthen psychological capital, cultivate growth mindsets, and enhance social support networks within educational contexts.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1584343/fullacademic buoyancypsychological capitalsocial supportgrowth mindsetresiliencemixed-methods
spellingShingle Gui Xiao
Huifang Liu
Intrapersonal strengths and interpersonal support: predicting academic buoyancy through psychological capital and growth mindset
Frontiers in Psychology
academic buoyancy
psychological capital
social support
growth mindset
resilience
mixed-methods
title Intrapersonal strengths and interpersonal support: predicting academic buoyancy through psychological capital and growth mindset
title_full Intrapersonal strengths and interpersonal support: predicting academic buoyancy through psychological capital and growth mindset
title_fullStr Intrapersonal strengths and interpersonal support: predicting academic buoyancy through psychological capital and growth mindset
title_full_unstemmed Intrapersonal strengths and interpersonal support: predicting academic buoyancy through psychological capital and growth mindset
title_short Intrapersonal strengths and interpersonal support: predicting academic buoyancy through psychological capital and growth mindset
title_sort intrapersonal strengths and interpersonal support predicting academic buoyancy through psychological capital and growth mindset
topic academic buoyancy
psychological capital
social support
growth mindset
resilience
mixed-methods
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1584343/full
work_keys_str_mv AT guixiao intrapersonalstrengthsandinterpersonalsupportpredictingacademicbuoyancythroughpsychologicalcapitalandgrowthmindset
AT huifangliu intrapersonalstrengthsandinterpersonalsupportpredictingacademicbuoyancythroughpsychologicalcapitalandgrowthmindset