PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND ACADEMIC-PERFORMANCE - THE ROLE OF MOTIVATION ANDLEARNING-STRATEGIES

How psychopathology, defined as high psychological distress with conco mitant limited coping resources, relates to students' academic perform ance and its determinants is examined. The correlation between college students' (N = 326) level of psychopathology and their course grade w as not significant. However, psychopathology was significantly related to students' motivation and use of learning strategies that were, in turn, related to academic performance. Specifically, more poorly adjus ted students perceived themselves as less competent to succeed, experi enced greater test anxiety, and were less likely to regulate their stu dy environment, persist in the face of difficulty, and seek academic a ssistance when needed. Structural equation modeling (EQS) provided evi dence that psychopathology had a significant indirect effect on perfor mance and demonstrated the important role of self-efficacy and resourc e management.