Academic Psychological Capital, or PsyCap, –a set of positive psychological resources encompassing hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism– has begun to gain attention in academia, showing positive relationships with desirable academic outcomes. However, studies in the field have paid limited attention to the social factors that may increase PsyCap and therefore may lead to positive outcomes. In the present study –integrating self–determination theory (SDT) and conservation of resources (COR) theory– we examine whether academic PsyCap mediates between teacher–student relationships (TSR) and academic performance (AP) as assessed by student's GPA, using a three–wave longitudinal design. Through structural equation modelling (SEM), as expected, a statistically significant indirect effect was found between TSR and AP via academic PsyCap. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed, strengths and weaknesses are mentioned, and future research directions are proposed.
No abstract is provided for this article.
No abstract is provided for this article.
This study focuses on burnout and its positive antipode—engagement. A model is tested in which burnout and engagement have different predictors and different possible consequences. Structural equation modeling was used to simultaneously analyze data from four independent occupational samples (total N = 1698). Results confirm the hypothesized model indicating that: (1) burnout and engagement are negatively related, sharing between 10 per cent and 25 per cent of their variances; (2) burnout is mainly predicted by job demands but also by lack of job resources, whereas engagement is exclusively predicted by available job resources; (3) burnout is related to health problems as well as to turnover intention, whereas engagement is related only to the latter; (4) burnout mediates the relationship between job demands and health problems, whereas engagement mediates the relationship between job resources and turnover intention. The fact that burnout and engagement exhibit different patterns of possible causes and consequences implies that different intervention strategies should be used when burnout is to be reduced or engagement is to be enhanced. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
