Profiling English Learners’ Negative Emotions: Motivational Antecedents, Emotion Regulation, and Achievement across Genders

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Thursday 2:15pm
  In Poster Session: Emotion, Identity, and Social Contexts in Learning

Abstract

This study explored gender differences in negative emotion profiles (boredom, anxiety, stress) among 643 Hong Kong English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners. Using a person-centered approach, we identified three profiles across genders: minimal, moderate, and pervasive negative emotion learners. Multigroup latent profile analysis revealed invariant profiles across genders. Notably, multinomial regression analyses demonstrated nuanced gender-specific patterns in motivational antecedents: boys relied more on interest, whereas girls depended exclusively on self-efficacy to avoid the pervasive negative emotion profile membership. Task importance exacerbated negative emotions for both genders. Emotion regulation strategies also varied by gender, though EFL achievement showed no significant differences. Findings highlight nuanced gender differences in EFL negative emotion profiles, offering insights for tailored EFL pedagogical interventions.

Authors

• Yuhong Jiao, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

• Barry Bai, Chinese University of Hong Kong

• Hongfang Li, Baicaoyuan Kindergarten

• Qingyao Dan, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

• Jiatong Zhang, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

• To Chan, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

• Miranda Lin, Illinois State University