Moderation analysis of subjective well-being, self-efficacy, and academic performance of 4th grade children in Russia

Plos One. 2026. Vol. 21. No. 2. Article e0341318.

Akhmedjanova D., Kanonire T., Zakharov A.

Research evidence exists on associations of subjective well-being, self-efficacy and various academic and non-academic outcomes with older students; however, there is a research gap on how these variables relate to each other in elementary school students. The goal of this cross-sectional study within a larger longitudinal project was to examine the role of subjective well-being and self-efficacy in predicting academic achievement in math and reading among elementary school students in Russia. The sample included 1,962 students’ responses (50.4% girls, 7.7% in rural areas) from elementary schools in central Russia. To measure students’ well-being, two subscales from the Survey of Subjective Well-being in School (SSWBS) were used: satisfaction with school (k=7) and affect toward school (k=3). Domain-specific Self-efficacy Scales: self-efficacy for mathematics (k=4) and self-efficacy for reading (k=4) were used to measure students’ self-efficacy. To measure students’ academic achievement in mathematics and reading, the Progress assessment – the computer adaptive test – was used. Based on the results, self-efficacy for math relates positively to girls’ (SD=0.32) and boys’ (SD=0.34) results in math (p<0.01). In contrast, for girls, self-efficacy in reading is more important for their results in reading (SD = 0.27) than for boys (SD=0.16). Hence, both types of self-efficacy are significant for girls and moderate the relationship between subjective well-being and their academic results (satisfaction with school: SD=0.09, p<0.01; affect toward school: SD=0.1, p<0.05). The results confirmed the role and importance of self-efficacy in academic performance as well as its relationship to subjective well-being for elementary school students, thus expanding the theoretical views and providing the evidence for the moderating effect of self-efficacy. The paper articulates ideas for future research and implications for teachers and policy makers on targeted development of self-efficacy for math through school wide interventions, especially for elementary school girls.

Keywords: mathematics, reading, self-efficacy, moderation effect, elementary school, subjective well-being (SWB)

Publication based on the results of: Longitudinal study of factors influencing school failure (2024)