Academic performance of first-year university students: the influence of resilience and engagement

ABSTRACT

This study, using a time-lagged design, investigated whether or not a relationship between the dimensions of resilience and engagement, and the academic performance of first-year university students, existed. Moreover, we investigated whether or not the dimensions of resilience and engagement were different in students who dropped out of their university studies during their first year as compared to those who remained in university. For the total sample (N = 748), the results showed that two dimensions of resilience (hardiness and resourcefulness) and two of engagement (dedication and absorption) helped predict the academic performance of students. Nevertheless, the importance of each one of these variables differed according to gender. Absorption predicted academic performance in males but not in females. Results showed that those students who remained in university after their first year had more vigor, more hardiness and more resourcefulness than those who had dropped out of their university studies. These results suggested that resilience and engagement had to be taken into consideration at the time of university admission if there was an aim to improve the results of the academic performance.

KEYWORDS:

• Academic performance
• engagement
• higher education
• resilience
• Spanish university students

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Juan Carlos Ayala http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0883-2149