Sinking or Swimming in an Academic Pool: A Study of Resiliency and Student Success in First-Year Undergraduates

Oct 15, 2026

Study investigates whether resiliency incrementally predicts first-year undergraduate student success after controlling for other predictors. Participants included 277 students completing self-reports on academic skills, resiliency, personality, emotional intelligence, and perfectionism; end-of-year GPA was collected from the university registrar. Hierarchical regression showed sense of mastery positively related to GPA, while adaptability negatively predicted GPA. Results also suggest self-efficacy is salient for academic success.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages25

Reading Time1 h 3 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

CSSHE SCÉES Canadian Journal of Higher Education Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur Volume 49, No. 1, 2019, pages 60-84 Sinking or Swimming in an Academic Pool: A Study of Resiliency and Student Success in First-Year Undergraduates Claire A. Wilson, Sarah E. Babcock, & Donald H. Saklofske Western University Abstract The transition from high school to post-secondary education presents challenges for students. Many variables have been identified as significant predictors of student achievement. Resiliency, defined as the ability to overcome challenges and adversity, may be particularly relevant during the adjustment to post-secondary education. This study assesses whether resiliency incrementally predicts student success after controlling for additional predictors. Participants were 277 undergraduate students who completed self-reports of academic skills, resiliency, personality variables, emotional intelligence (EI), and perfectionism. Students’ year-end GPA was collected from the university registrar. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that resiliency, measured by sense of mastery, negatively predicted GPA after controlling for other predictors. The sense of mastery facet of self-efficacy positively predicted GPA; however, the adaptability facet was a significant negative predictor of GPA. Findings suggest that self-efficacy is a salient predictor of academic success, and that strong academic skills may serve as a protective factor for poor adaptability. Résumé La transition du secondaire au postsecondaire pose des défis aux étudiants. De nombreuses variables ont été identifiées comme des prédicteurs significatifs du rendement des élèves. La résilience, définie comme la capacité de surmonter les défis et l’adversité, peut être particulièrement pertinentelors de l’adaptation à l’éducation postsecondaire. Cette étude évalue si la CJHE / RCES Volume 49, No. 1, 2019 Resiliency and Student Sucess / C. A. Wilson1, S.E. Babcock, & D. H. Saklofske 61 résilience prédit progressivement la réussite de l’élève après le contrôle defacteurs prédictifs supplémentaires. Les participants étaient 277 étudiants de premier cycle qui avaient complété des auto-évaluations de compétences académiques, de résilience, de variables de personnalité, d’intelligence émotionnelle (IE), et de perfectionnisme. La moyenne pondérée cumulative (MPC) de fin d’année des étudiants a été recueilli auprès du registraire del’université. Une analyse de régression hiérarchique a révélé que la résilience, mesurée parle sens de la maîtrise, prédisait négativement la MPC après avoir contrôlé les autres prédicteurs. La facette du sens de la maîtrise de l’autoefficacité prédisait positivement la MPC, cependant, la facette d’adaptabilitéétait un prédicteur négatif significatif de la MPC. Nos résultats suggèrent quel›auto-efficacité est un facteur prédictif important de la réussite scolaire et que de solides compétences académiques peuvent constituer un facteur de protection pour une faible adaptabilité . Introduction Post-secondary success and student retention in North America has been widely studied. However, in recent years, researchers are discovering that students entering postsecondary education are not necessarily following the traditional path to degree completion (Finnie & Qiu, 2008; Parker & Baldwin, 2009) . Some students withdraw for various reasons but later return, others change programs and take longer to complete their degree (Finnie & Qiu, 2009; Martinello, 2007; Shaienks, Eisl-Culkin, & Bussière, 2006), while still others withdraw or fail and do not return for further education (Shaienks, Gluszynski, & Bayard, 2008) . While considerable research has examined various factors that may contribute to student retention, the salient feature among these varying patterns of degree completion is that some students manage to persist in their studies despite adversity and significant challenges. As Parker and Baldwin (2009)

FAQs

What is resiliency in this study’s context?

Resiliency is described as the ability to adapt and thrive in the face of adversity. The paper also notes resiliency as an ability to overcome challenges during adjustment to post-secondary education.

How was student success measured?

Student success is operationally defined as academic achievement measured by grade point average (GPA), collected from the university registrar at year-end.

Which resiliency facet predicted GPA positively and which predicted it negatively?

Sense of mastery (a self-efficacy facet) positively predicted GPA, whereas adaptability was a significant negative predictor of GPA after controlling for other variables.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Danger Angel