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How Health Behaviors Relate to Academic Performance via Affect : An Intensive Longitudinal Study

Flueckiger, Lavinia and Lieb, Roselind and Meyer, Andrea H. and Mata, Jutta. (2014) How Health Behaviors Relate to Academic Performance via Affect : An Intensive Longitudinal Study. PLoS ONE, 9 (10). e111080.

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Official URL: http://edoc.unibas.ch/dok/A6319274

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Abstract

This intensive longitudinal study examined how sleep and physical activity relate to university students' affect and academic performance during a stressful examination period.; On 32 consecutive days, 72 first-year students answered online questionnaires on their sleep quality, physical activity, positive and negative affect, learning goal achievement, and examination grades. First-year university students are particularly well-suited to test our hypotheses: They represent a relatively homogeneous population in a natural, but controlled setting, and simultaneously deal with similar stressors, such as examinations. Data were analyzed using multilevel structural equation models.; Over the examination period, better average sleep quality but not physical activity predicted better learning goal achievement. Better learning goal achievement was associated with increased probability of passing all examinations. Relations of average sleep quality and average physical activity with learning goal achievement were mediated by experienced positive affect. In terms of day-to-day dynamics, on days with better sleep quality, participants reported better learning goal achievement. Day-to-day physical activity was not related to daily learning goal achievement. Daily positive and negative affect both mediated the effect of day-to-day sleep quality and physical activity on daily learning goal achievement.; Health behaviors such as sleep quality and physical activity seem important for both academic performance and affect experience, an indicator of mental health, during a stressful examination period. These results are a first step toward a better understanding of between- and within-person variations in health behaviors, affect, and academic performance, and could inform prevention and intervention programs for university students.
Faculties and Departments:07 Faculty of Psychology > Departement Psychologie > Ehemalige Einheiten Psychologie > Gesundheitspsychologie (Wittig Mata)
07 Faculty of Psychology > Departement Psychologie > Health & Intervention > Klinische Psychologie und Epidemiologie (Lieb)
UniBasel Contributors:Wittig Mata, Jutta and Flückiger, Lavinia and Lieb, Roselind and Meyer, Andrea Hans
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:Public Library of Science
e-ISSN:1932-6203
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
Language:English
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Last Modified:31 Aug 2018 06:39
Deposited On:05 Dec 2014 09:45

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