Developmental Trajectories of Academic Helplessness During Adolescence and the Concurrent Effects of Academic Engagement and Peer Attachment
AUTHOR : 하아영, 정선영, 허인화, 조한익
INFORMATION : page. 119~132 / 2025 Vol.32 No.2
ABSTRACT
This study aims to examine the longitudinal developmental trajectories of academic helplessness during middle and high school years and investigate the effects of academic engagement and peer attachment. The data were drawn from the 2018 Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS), specifically the first through sixth waves of the first-year middle school panel, comprising 2,590 students. The results showed that academic helplessness followed a quadratic pattern, increasing linearly and gradually decreasing. The results of examining the effect of academic engagement on the longitudinal change of academic helplessness during adolescence showed that higher levels of academic engagement were associated with lower levels of academic helplessness, although this effect diminished over time. Also, the study showed that higher peer attachment initially correlated with increased academic helplessness, which then decreased later on. This study is significant because it highlights a pattern of academic helplessness during adolescence that initially increase and then decrease. Additionally, it confirms that both academic engagement and peer attachment can mitigate the negative effects of academic helplessness.