British Journal of Guidance & Counselling

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The mediation effects of achievement motivation

and locus of control between academic stress and
life satisfaction in undergraduate students

Mehmet A. Karaman, Kristina M. Nelson & Javier Cavazos Vela

To cite this article: Mehmet A. Karaman, Kristina M. Nelson & Javier Cavazos Vela (2018) The
mediation effects of achievement motivation and locus of control between academic stress and life
satisfaction in undergraduate students, British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 46:4, 375-384,
DOI: 10.1080/03069885.2017.1346233

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Published online: 04 Jul 2017.

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BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING
2018, VOL. 46, NO. 4, 375–384
https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2017.1346233

The mediation effects of achievement motivation and locus of

control between academic stress and life satisfaction in
undergraduate students
Mehmet A. Karamana, Kristina M. Nelsonb and Javier Cavazos Velaa
a
Department of Counseling and Guidance, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX, USA;
b
Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, TX, USA

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

This study investigated the mediation effect of locus of control and Received 31 October 2016
achievement motivation between academic stress and life satisfaction. A Revised 3 April 2017
total of 307 undergraduate students recruited from a Hispanic Serving Accepted 18 May 2017
Institution in South Texas participated in the study. In the frame of the
KEYWORDS
study, two mediation models were tested by utilising PROCESS Life satisfaction; academic
Procedure for SPSS (Hayes, 2013. Introduction to mediation, moderation, stress; achievement
and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York, motivation; locus of control;
NY: Guilford Press). The results indicated that bivariate correlations undergraduate students
among study variables ranged from −.24 to .32. The overall composite
indicated that academic stress contributed to 6% of the variance in life
satisfaction (p < .01) among students (b = −.06), while the mediating
effect of locus of control contributed to 10% of the variance in Life
Satisfaction (p < .01) among students (b = −.4).

Introduction
Life satisfaction, happiness, and well-being are the positive sides of human behaviour (Diener, 2000).
Life satisfaction can be defined as a person’s cognitive and judgmental process, which includes his or
her evaluations and feelings about life and future (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985). During
their college years, students start to take more responsibility to evaluate their feelings about life
and future in terms of health, school, life, and financial situation as young adults (Civitci, 2015).
College years can be stressful for students since they encounter a new social and educational
environment. Each student experiences this process differently depending on the culture they
were raised, the places they spent most of their lives, their educational background, and their person-
ality traits. Stress is one of the individual factors affecting persons’ quality of life (Kaya, Tansey, Mele-
koğlu, & Çakıroğlu, 2015; Yildiz & Karadas, 2017). Academic stress can deplete students’ physical and
psychological resources causing physical illness and psychological distress, which decrease one’s
level of subjective well-being (SWB; Misra & Castillo, 2004). In other words, academic stress is an
associated factor with life satisfaction, which is a domain of SWB.
Prior research (Coccia & Darling, 2016; Dave, Tripathi, Singh, & Udainiya, 2011; Kaya et al., 2015) has
found academic stress to be related to life satisfaction, social connectedness, and locus of control.
Coccia and Darling (2016) found stress to be negatively correlated with life satisfaction. In another
study, Civitci (2015) indicated that college students’ perceived stress and life satisfaction were signifi-
cantly related, and college belonging played a moderator role between stress and life satisfaction.
Therefore, it is vital for researchers to continue identifying factors that may influence students’ life

CONTACT Mehmet A. Karaman [email protected]

© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
376 M. A. KARAMAN ET AL.

satisfaction in order to possibly predict and prevent psychological distress and potentially capitalise
where the positive indicators may lead. Moreover, among the many aspects to affect student life sat-
isfaction lies in academic stress (Julal, 2016; Kaya et al., 2015; Lee & Jang, 2015). Life satisfaction is the
cognitive aspect of SWB and it encompasses important mental and physical factors (Koydemir & Sun-
Selisik, 2016; McLaughlin, 2008; Pavot & Diener, 1993).

Academic stress and life satisfaction

The pursuit of happiness has been a persistent theme throughout the media, literature, and sciences
for as long as human existence. The construct of happiness may be found within the term SWB, which
consists of two components: cognitive and affective (McLaughlin, 2008; Pavot & Diener, 1993). The
literature goes on to further break down the affective component into subsections: pleasant affect
and unpleasant affect, with the cognitive component termed as life satisfaction. Pavot and Diener
(1993) defined life satisfaction as the internal thinking and evaluative process in which an individual
will compare what they believe their life should be to what it currently is; the more congruent these
two perceptions are, the higher level of life satisfaction reported will be. Regarding life satisfaction,
stress was found to be a factor adversely influencing quality of life impacting physical health (e.g.
heart disease) and mental health (e.g. depression; Ng, Diener, Aurora, & Harter, 2009).
Within the college population, academic stress is regularly reported (Karaman & Watson, 2017;
Civitci, 2015; Watson & Watson, 2016). Academic stressors include students’ perception of the
amount of knowledge needed to complete a task and the perception of not having the sufficient
time to develop it (Carvalho, Gadzella, Henley, & Ball, 2009; Carveth, Gesse, & Moss, 1996). Life satis-
faction enhances resilience of an individual and serves as a protective factor in the face of adverse life
experiences impacting the health and well-being of students (Lane, 2016; Suldo & Huebner, 2004). In
Diener’s (2000) study with college students from 17 countries, happiness and life satisfaction were
more important than money for most students. Civitci (2015) also emphasised the importance of
life satisfaction due to it being one of the most important indicators of psychological health and con-
sidered highly valuable to college students.

Locus of control and life satisfaction

In the 1960s, locus of control received scholars’ attention by questioning how individuals perceived
and reacted toward reinforcements presented as motivational variables. Locus of control refers to
how much an individual attributes what happens to them is either an effect of their own actions
or their environment. Rotter (1966) explained that an individual interprets and reacts to events
from ‘his own behavior versus the degree to which they feel the reward is controlled by forces
outside of themselves’ (p. 1). Rotter (1966) developed the Internal–External Expectancies Scale (I–E
Scale) to measure the locus of control reinforcement. Individuals who score high on internal locus
of control believe they are in control of their future, perceive their environment as malleable,
value their personal skill, and are more resistant to subtle attempts to influence them. On the
other hand, individuals who have high external control believe that their success is dependent on
the control of powerful others, destiny, luck, and chance (Abdullahi, 2008; Binder, 2014; Carvalho
et al., 2009).
Studies (Dollinger, 2000; Gifford, Briceno-Perriott, & Mianzo, 2006; Hamarta, Ozyesil, Deniz, &
Dilmac, 2013) show that locus of control among college students have been widely researched.
Both early and recent studies of locus of control found significant relationships between life satisfac-
tion and locus of control (Boschen, 1996; Davoudi, Kascani, & Honarmand, 2014; Langan-Fox, Canty, &
Sankey, 2010; Moore, 2007). Moore (2007) stated locus of control was an important variable to
increasing life satisfaction. The author indicated that participants’ sense of control and life satisfaction
depended on internal locus of control. In another study, Langan-Fox et al. (2010) examined the mod-
erating effect of dependence and locus of control on implicit and self-attributed affiliation motive
 BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING 377

congruency and life satisfaction. The findings of their study showed locus of control to be a significant
moderator between affiliation motive congruence and life satisfaction. In addition, locus of control
and life satisfaction were positively correlated for high/low and low/high incongruent individuals.
Overall, the research has shown there to be a significant relationship between life satisfaction and
locus of control. This connection has helped college counsellors and educators understand how stu-
dents’ attributes are related to life satisfaction.

Achievement motivation and life satisfaction

Achievement motivation is a personality character which encourages persons to accomplish their
own internalised standards of excellence (Lew, Allen, Papouchis, & Ritzler, 1998). Correlational and
predictive studies of life satisfaction and achievement motivation appear to be a recent focus
among researchers. In one of the earliest studies found, Jacob and Guarnaccia (1997) examined
the association between life satisfaction and both explicit and implicit motivations. Results showed
there was a positive relationship between life satisfaction and explicit motivation. In another
study, Judge, Bono, Erez, and Locke (2005) examined the mediation effect of goal attainment
between achievement motivation and life satisfaction among college students and results indicated
achievement motivation to be related to life satisfaction. In a recent study, Oladipo, Adenaike,
Adejumo, and Ojewumi (2013) examined the predictors of life satisfaction among undergraduate
student and found that achievement motivation and locus of control significantly predicted life sat-
isfaction. Students, within high internal locus of control, who were high on need achievement motiv-
ation, had a lower life satisfaction, while students, within high external locus of control, who were low
on need achievement motivation, had a higher life satisfaction.
Overall, the literature reviewed supports the existence of a significant relationship between life
satisfaction and achievement motivation. However, the lack of research conducted on college stu-
dents’ levels of life satisfaction and achievement motivation represents a gap in the extant literature.

Purpose of the study

Researchers (Karaman & Watson, 2017; Elias, Ping, & Abdullah, 2011; Watson & Watson, 2016) found
that academic stress among college students increasing and factors related to stress affect their life
satisfaction, retention, and academic success. Besides providing good education, one of the impor-
tant roles higher education institutions need to have is to provide a healthy educational environment
which students can fulfil their satisfaction of life. Recent reports (Noel-Levitz, 2014; Study Portals,
2013, 2014) demonstrate that institutions are in position to have better university services (e.g. admis-
sion procedures, financial aid, counselling services, and student accommodations) and academics
(e.g. quality of education, university ranking, and variety of curricula offered) which have been the
top two factors negatively affecting the satisfaction of students. At this point, understanding
factors affecting students’ satisfaction of life, academic stress, locus of control, and achievement
motivation is important for college and university administrators and student support personnel.
Hence, the current study seeks how locus of control and achievement motivation mediate the
relationship between academic stress and life satisfaction.

Method
Participants
A total of 307 students (176 men and 131 women) recruited from a Hispanic Serving Institution in
South Texas participated in the study. Their mean age was 21.3 years (SD = 4.9; range: 18–49).
Three participants did not respond to this demographic query. Participants reported their academic
levels as freshmen (n = 157, 51.1%), sophomores (n = 26, 8.5%), juniors (n = 34, 11.1%), and seniors (n
378 M. A. KARAMAN ET AL.

= 89, 29%). One participant failed to respond to this demographic query. In terms of the education
level in their immediate family, 79 participants (25.4%) reported that they were the first one in
their family to attend college, 69 participants (22.5%) were the second one to attend college, 48 par-
ticipants (15.6%) were the third one to attend college, and 109 participants (35.5%) were one among
many. Two participants failed to respond to this demographic query. As for the ethnic composition of
the participants, 35.8% were White or Caucasian (n = 110), 2.9% were African American (n = 9), 2.9%
were Asian American (n = 9), 29% were Hispanic or Latino (n = 90), 7.2% were Multiracial (n = 22) and
21.5% were international (n = 66). One participant failed to respond to this demographic query.

Measures
Achievement Motivation Measure
The Achievement Motivation Measure (AMM; Smith, Karaman, Balkin, & Arora, 2017) was developed
to assess achievement behaviours and thoughts in the context of McClelland’s (1961) high achieving
individual. The instrument is a self-report measure estimating level of achievement motivation in 14
items across two factors. The AMM uses a 5-point Likert-type response format with values ranging
from 0 (never) to 4 (always). The 14-item scale includes items such as ‘I feel that my present work
is meaningful’ and ‘I try and follow the rule: Business before pleasure.’ Smith et al. (2017) reported
moderate Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of .76 for the achievement thoughts subscale and .65 for
the achievement behaviours subscales. The overall alpha coefficient for the AMM was .82.

Rotter Internal–External Locus of Control Scale

The Internal–External Scale (I–E; Rotter, 1966) was developed to measure behaviours from life areas
such as love, dominance, and social-political events (Lange & Tiggemann, 1981). The instrument is a
forced-choice 29-item questionnaire including six filler items. Participants are asked to select one
statement from a pair of statements they believe to be true in their lives. Each item on the scale con-
sists of two statements representing internal and external locus of control. Twenty-three items are
scored giving one point for each external response. The I–E Scale includes items such as ‘a) many
of the unhappy things in people’s lives are partly due to bad luck,’ or ‘b) people’s misfortunes
result from the mistakes they make.’ In this example ‘a’ represents an external response and ‘b’ an
internal response. Rotter (1966) reported test–retest reliabilities for several samples varying
between .49 and .83 over one to two months. For this study, Cronbach’s alpha was .68.

The Student Life Stress Inventory-Revised

The Student Life Stress Inventory-Revised (SSI-R; Gadzella & Masten, 2005) was developed to measure
academic stress. The inventory is a self-report measure that estimates academic stress of college level
students with 53 items organised into 9 factors. The SSI-R uses a 5-point Likert-type response format
with values ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (most of the time). The SSI-R includes items such as ‘I have
experienced frustrations due to delays in reaching my goal’ and ‘I have experienced both positive
and negative alternatives.’ Gadzella and Masten (2005) reported Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for
reliability. The total reliability of the instrument was .92. The correlations (test–retest) between
each category ranged from .46 to .76. The reliability of subscales ranged from .61 on the self-
imposed subscale to .86 on the changes subscale. For this study, overall Cronbach’s alpha was .93.

The Satisfaction with Life Scale

The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener et al., 1985) was developed to assess how satisfied an
individual is with his/her life in terms of well-being and can be used across multiple age groups. The
scale is a self-report questionnaire that estimates perceived level of life satisfaction within five items
using a 7-point Likert-type response format with values ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7
(strongly agree). The 5-item scale includes items such as ‘In most ways my life is close to my ideal’
and ‘I am satisfied with life.’ The SWLS has been translated into 32 different languages and is well-
 BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING 379

suited for use with individuals from different cultural backgrounds (SWLS, 2014). The Cronbach’s
alpha score of .84 showed a good internal consistency (Diener et al., 1985). For this study, Cronbach’s
alpha was .84

Procedure
After the institutional review board (IRB) of the university approved the study, the data were collected
from volunteer students through different colleges. The lead researcher attended the first or last 30
minutes of scheduled classes to collect data. A survey package including an information letter, demo-
graphic form, and instrumentation measuring the study constructs were given to volunteer partici-
pants. They were informed that the survey would take between 20 and 25 minutes to complete.
The data were analysed using SPSS 23, and explored both achievement motivation and locus of
control as mediating factors using PROCESS procedure for SPSS (Hayes, 2013).

Statistical analysis
Mediation analysis is a statistical method used to help identify how an independent variable (X ) trans-
mits its effect on a dependent variable (Y ), through an intervening variable (M ), (Hayes, 2013). With
basic mediation analysis, there are two distinct pathways where a specific X variable is proposed as
influencing the Y variable. The pathway that leads from X to Y without passing through M is referred
to as the direct effect of X on Y. Meanwhile, the pathway from X to Y through M is referred to as the
indirect effect of X on Y through M. The indirect effect represents how the path first passes from the
antecedent variable X to the consequent variable M, and then from the antecedent variable M to the
consequent variable Y. In summary, the indirect effect represents how X influences Y through a causal
sequence where X influences M, which then influencing Y (Hayes, 2013). In the frame of the study, two
mediation models were tested.

Results
The correlations among study variables, means, and standard deviations are presented in Table 1. The
correlations among the variables were small to medium, ranging from −.24 to −.31. Life satisfaction
was negatively correlated with locus of control and academic stress and positively correlated with
achievement motivation. As expected, academic stress was positively correlated with locus of
control. On the other hand, there was no significant relationship between academic stress and
achievement motivation.
The researchers chose to explore both Locus of Control and Achievement Motivation as mediators
using PROCESS Procedure for SPSS (Hayes, 2013). Academic stress, as measured by the SSI-R (Gadzella
& Masten, 2005), was identified as the independent variable. Locus of Control, as measured by the I–E
Scale (Rotter, 1966), was identified as a mediator. Achievement Motivation, as measured by the AMM
(Smith et al., 2017), was identified as a mediator. Lastly, Life satisfaction, as measured by the SWLS
(Diener et al., 1985), was identified as the dependent variable. The results of the path analysis
revealed that the total effect of Academic Stress on Life Satisfaction without the mediator of Achieve-
ment Motivation present was statistically significant (−.06, p < .01), while the effect of Academic

Table 1. Intercorrelations among study variables, means (M), and standard deviations (SD) of variables.
Variable 1 2 3 M SD
Academic stress – 151.00 27.33
Locus of control .29* – 10.70 3.69
Life satisfaction −.24* −.26* – 24.17 6.27
Achievement motivation .03 −.31* .32* 39.36 6.45
*p < .01.
380 M. A. KARAMAN ET AL.

Stress on Life Satisfaction with the mediator of Achievement Motivation present was also statistically
significant (−.06, p < .01); however, the effect of Academic Stress on Achievement Motivation was not
statistically significant (.01, p > .05), indicating that Achievement Motivation does not serve as a
mediator with the data.
In contrast, results revealed that Locus of Control may serve as a mediator with the data. The
results of the path analysis revealed that the total effect of Academic Stress on Life Satisfaction
without the mediator of Locus of Control present was statistically significant (−.06, p < .01), while
the direct effect of Academic Stress on Life Satisfaction with the mediator present was also statisti-
cally significant (−.04, p < .01), and the indirect effect of Academic Stress on Life Satisfaction
through the mediator was also statistically significant (−.01, p < .01). The mediation effect is calcu-
lated as the total effect (−.055) minus the direct effect (−.041), which equals −.014. Given that the
relationship between Academic Stress and Life satisfaction was statistically significant without the
mediator present and remained statistically significant with the mediator of Locus of Control
present, partial mediation is suggested. Academic Stress predicted 6% of the variance in Life Satisfac-
tion without the mediator present, F (1, 305) = 18.9927, p < .01; while Academic Stress predicted 8% (r
= .29) of the variance in Locus of Control, F (1, 305) = 28.1837, p < .01; and the mediating effect of
Locus of Control predicted 10% (r = .31) of the variance in Life Satisfaction, F(2, 304) = 6.7680, p < .01.
Results of the PROCESS Procedures revealed that Locus of Control was a statistically significant
predictor of Life Satisfaction (10%, r = .31, p < .01), and when run as a mediator, Locus of Control
showed to be a statistically significant mediator between Academic Stress and Life Satisfaction.
The overall model is statistically significant, F (2, 304) = 16.55, p < .01, r 2 = .0982; b = −.0417, t(304)
= −3.1911, p < .01. These results indicate that Locus of Control changes the relationship between Aca-
demic Stress and Life Satisfaction. Bootstrap results show that the total effect of Academic Stress on
Life Satisfaction (−.06) minus the direct effect of Academic Stress on Life Satisfaction (−.04) = −.014.
As such, the indirect effect of Academic Stress on Life Satisfaction with Locus of Control as a mediator
is −.01.

Discussion
The aim of current study was to better understand to what extend academic stress affected life sat-
isfaction, and how locus of control and achievement motivation mediated this relationship. College
years are a developmental process for undergraduate students and have a significant impact on their
lives (Coccia & Darling, 2016). Understanding factors affecting college students’ levels of life satisfac-
tion can help students to engage with their field of studies and institutions (Dogan & Celik, 2014; Julal,
2016).
The overall composite indicated that Academic Stress contributed to 6% of the variance in Life
Satisfaction (p < .01) among students (b = −.06), while the mediating effect of Locus of Control con-
tributed to 10% of the variance in Life Satisfaction (p < .01) among students (b = −.4). Therefore, stu-
dents who have external locus of control experience higher academic stress and lower life satisfaction
as opposed to students who have internal locus of control. This is consistent with previous findings
(Karaman & Watson, 2017; Dave et al., 2011; Hamarta et al., 2013), where results showed that students
with higher levels of life satisfaction would have higher internal locus of control and lower external
locus of control. On the other hand, our findings were opposite to Oladipo et al. (2013) findings. A
possible explanation of this could be that Oladipo et al. (2013) examined need of achievement
while we focused on achievement thoughts and behaviours. Need of achievement corresponds
with people’s desire to achieve and accomplish tasks (McClelland, 1961). Furthermore, the
measure we used covers need of achievement motivation and achievement behaviours. In other
words, our findings take account the desire and responsible behaviour for achievement motivation
(Smith et al., 2017).
The relationship between academic stress, locus of control, and life satisfaction has been explored
(Au, 2015; Langan-Fox et al., 2010; Weiner, 1979); however, the present study provides further
 BRITISH JOURNAL OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELLING 381

evidence to support the meditative role that locus of control has on the relationship between aca-
demic stress and life satisfaction. The results of this study support other researchers (Moore, 2007;
Zawawi & Hamaideh, 2009) who found that students with beliefs that reinforcement is dependent
on his/her own capacities, behaviours, or attributes are able to increase their life satisfaction and
decrease academic stress which is affected by the way they interpret and react to events. On the
other hand, students who believe that reinforcement is dependent on the control of powerful
others, destiny, luck, and chance have a potential to increase their academic stress resulting in
lower life satisfaction.
Results of this study provide new insight into the relationship between academic stress, locus of
control, and life satisfaction, as locus of control served as a partial mediating factor with this sample.
Therefore, college personnel should help students increase internal locus of control in order to influ-
ence academic stress and life satisfaction.

Implications for practice

Based on results from the current study, there are several implications for college counsellors. First,
counsellors can consider using different interventions and techniques to increase college students’
internal locus of control. Narrative therapy (White & Epston, 1990) might help college students re-
author their story filled with hope and a strong internal locus of control. Empowering students to
believe that they can control and impact their personal and mental health outcomes could influence
life satisfaction, academic stress, and internal locus of control. Counsellors also could use several nar-
rative techniques, including mapping the influence of the problem, externalising the problem and re-
authoring stories, to help students understand that they can control many aspects of their environ-
ment (White & Epston, 1990). Second, counsellors can use positive psychology principles and tech-
niques (Seligman, 2002) to help students identify and increase hope that they can achieve their
personal and academic goals as well as cultivate character strengths to foster optimism (Savage,
2011. By increasing hope toward their preferred academic future, students might also increase
internal locus of control regarding potential to achieve that future. Helping students examine and
cultivate hope and optimism might also foster a stronger sense of internal locus of control regarding
perceived control of their academic outcomes. Finally, students need to change their thoughts and
learn how to develop a strong internal locus of control to believe that they can influence their desired
future. College counsellors can use Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy to help students reframe
their beliefs and attitudes. Bernhardsdottir, Champion, and Skarsater (2014) found that female
college students in Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy improved (a) balance and positive thinking,
(b) self-confidence, (c) feelings of control, and (d) self-reflection. Group sessions focused on symp-
toms of stress, coping, thought records, and mastery. As a result of participation in this group experi-
ence, these college students reported that they felt more control over their thoughts, behaviour, and
feelings. We agree that Group Cognitive Behavior Therapy can help students develop positive
thoughts and feel a sense of control toward their future.

Implications for research

There are several implications for future research. First, researchers should continue to examine how
other factors mediate the relationship between college students’ academic stress and life satisfaction.
Possible mediating factors include grit, meaning in life, resilience, hope, optimism, campus climate,
mentoring, and mindfulness. Second, more outcome-based research to explore the impact of evalu-
ations with college students is important (Cavazos Vela, Lu, Lenz, & Hinojosa, 2015). Researchers can
use single-case research designs to explore the impact of counselling and/or psycho-educational
interventions to increase college students’ internal locus of control. Possible interventions that
could increase internal locus of control include narrative therapy, solution-focused brief therapy,
and positive psychology. Third, almost all of the research on academic stress or life satisfaction
382 M. A. KARAMAN ET AL.

involves college students. Although these studies have provided incredible insight, studies with
middle school, high school or community college students or the impact of high school experiences
on students’ life satisfaction and academic stress are important. Fourth, qualitative studies would
provide incredible insight into how internal locus of control influences life satisfaction and academic
stress. In-depth interviews with college students would generate insight into those factors that influ-
ence college students’ life satisfaction. Finally, researchers should examine how factors in the current
study and other relevant variables influence college students’ retention and graduation rates.
Researchers can use longitudinal studies to determine how locus of control, academic stress, life sat-
isfaction, and other factors influence college students’ success in college and beyond.

Limitations
There are several limitations that must be taken into consideration. First, we relied on cross-sectional
data from one university without random assignment. Researchers should use longitudinal data and
recruit samples from different institutions in order to make causal inferences. Additionally, partici-
pants in the current study attended a Hispanic Serving Institution. As a result, findings might not gen-
eralise to other institutions such as Predominately White Institutions or Historically Black Institutions.

Acknowledgement
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors
Dr Mehmet Akif Karaman is an assistant professor at the Department of Counseling and Guidance at the University of
Texas Rio Grande Valley. He has practiced in psychiatric hospitals, community mental health agencies, school districts,
and non-profit organisations. His research interests include achievement motivation, instrument development, cross-cul-
tural studies, and counselling children and adolescents.
Dr Kristina M. Nelson is an assistant professor of Counselor Education at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. She has
worked with children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families in university, community-based, and private practice
counselling settings. Dr Nelson’s research interests include trauma, child abuse prevention, positive psychology, and
family-related issues.
Dr Javier Cavazos Vela is an assistant professor at the Department of Counseling and Guidance at the University of Texas
Rio Grande Valley. His research focuses on understanding how positive psychology, humanistic, cultural, and family
factors influence Mexican American adolescents’ and young adults’ mental health, career development, and academic
achievement.

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