Influence of achievement goal orientation on psychological well-being: Mediating role of unconditional self- acceptance among college students

Pages: 1093-1097
Sahana U. and A. Velayudhan (Department of Psychology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu)

“Will I gain my required marks? Will I do better in the examination than my friends? Will I satisfy my parents? Will I get on my preferred course? Will I be able to succeed in life?” In India, The higher rates of suicide and other mental illness in students may come from “the greater likelihood of disappointments when aspirations that define self worth and happiness are distorted or unmet by the reality faced by them. Pressure is inevitable for students today because of the attitudes and believes they hold towards education and this can be explained by Achievement Goal Orientation (AGO) theory. Though there are studies stating association of Achievement Goal Orientation with different patterns of coping and emotion, less number of studies have explored how Achievement Goal Orientation relates to students’ Psychological Well-Being. The present study attempts to understand the influence of Mastery Goal Orientation (MGO), Performance Goal Orientation (PGO) on Psychological Well-Being (PWB) through the assumed mediating variable – Unconditional Self Acceptance (USA), which enables a person with a sense of self that is not influenced by any conditions such as good grades or appreciation by others. Sample of 200 engineering students was selected from different colleges in Bellary using simple random sampling method. Achievement Goal orientation scale, Unconditional Self Acceptance questionnaire, and Ryff’s scale for Psychological Well Being were used to collect data. Mediation analysis was carried out and the results revealed that PGO predicts significantly and negatively USA and PWB; MGO predicts USA and PWB significantly in a positive direction. Further, it was confirmed that USA mediates the relationship between AGO and PWB. Implications of the study suggest creating awareness in the society about the unseen harmful effects on students’ well being due to its over-emphasis on the performance of students rather than on students’ learning and to form intervention programs to enhance Unconditional Self Acceptance in students.