The effect of a stress mindset intervention on academic motivation among junior high school students

Appl Psychol Health Well Being. 2026 Aug;18(4):e70188. doi: 10.1111/aphw.70188.

ABSTRACT

In recent years, stress mindset-how individuals perceive and respond to stress-has drawn increasing attention from researchers. Studies have begun to explore its mechanisms of influence on students’ mental health and academic achievement. A randomized controlled trial was conducted in a middle school in China. Two classes were randomly assigned to the intervention group and received a specially designed “Stress Mindset” course based on the B.E.S.T. principle, whereas the remaining two classes served as the control group. A total of 155 students participated, including 78 in the intervention group. The average age of participants was 12.25 years, with 49.70% females. Bayesian Causal Forest (BCF) analysis showed that, compared to the control group, the intervention group exhibited a 0.46 standard deviation increase in stress-is-enhancing mindset (95% confidence interval [CI] = [.18, .71]). No significant improvements were observed for other variables. A mediation model supported the intervention mechanism: Group assignment (independent variable) predicted changes in academic motivation through the change in stress-is-enhancing mindset (B = .12, SE = .05, and 95% CI [.03, .25]). Process evaluation and qualitative feedback from researchers indicated high satisfaction and acceptability of the intervention. The stress mindset intervention effectively promoted a shift in students’ perception of stress as enhancing, offering a novel paradigm for future intervention research. The findings offer a novel paradigm for future intervention research.

PMID:42400189 | DOI:10.1111/aphw.70188