Longitudinal Associations and Mechanisms Between Achievement Goals and Subjective Well-Being in School in Chinese Adolescents

Based on the interplay between achievement goals theory and social comparison theory, our study focused on how achievement goals relate to subjective well-being in the school context in Chinese adolescents. Specifically, we addressed a theoretical model that specified that academic social comparisons and self-esteem would serve as mediators in the relation between achievement goals and subjective well-being in school in Chinese adolescents. At baseline, the sample included 894 students (461 girls and 433 boys) from grade 7. Students completed multiple self-report measures on three occasions at 1-year intervals. The findings from structural equation modeling analyses revealed that mastery goals, but not performance goals, displayed statistically significant indirect effects on subjective well-being in school successively via academic social comparisons and self-esteem. The results are discussed with respect to their implications for research and interventions in schools.