Co-Development of Adolescents' Cooperative and Competitive Attitudes: How It Predicts Mental Health and Academic Achievement

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: Motivation and Cognitive Processes (San Diego)

Abstract

This study used nationally-representative longitudinal data in South Korea to examine how joint changes in adolescents’ (N = 7,312; Mage ≈ 11 years) cooperative and competitive attitudes from the 6th to the 9th grade predict mental health and achievement in the 10th grade. A parallel process model showed that both cooperative and competitive attitudes declined over time. Higher cooperative attitudes at baseline had higher competitive attitudes, and a faster decline in cooperative attitudes showed a faster decline in competitive attitudes. The intercept of cooperative attitudes positively predicted mental health but negatively predicted achievement. Opposite patterns were found for the intercept of competitive attitudes. The findings highlight the usefulness of considering the co-development of different types of attitudes toward social interdependence.

Authors

• You-kyung Lee, Sookmyung Women's University

• Eun Ha Kim, Michigan State University

• Eunjin Seo, The University of Texas at Austin