Background: This study investigated the possible mediating role of fear-of-failure between educational expectations and adolescent stress-related complaints with a specific focus on gender differences among Swedishadolescents, and related these findings more broadly to school-related demands and stress-related complaints.
Methods: A total of N¼ 5504 Swedish adolescents (Mage¼ 15 years, SD ¼ 0.0 years, 50.2% girls) were drawn from the2018 Swedish Programme for International Student Assessment study for our investigation. We used structural equation models to explore if fear-of-failure mediates the relationship between educational expectations and negativeaffect, with a specific focus on gender differences. Educational expectations were utilized in the measurement model.Fear-of-failure was constructed as a latent mediating variable. Negative affect was constructed as a latent variableand utilized as an outcome variable. We subsequently undertook bootstrapping tests of indirect effects and nonlinear comparisons of indirect effects to assess the reliability of the results.
Results: Fear-of-failure partially mediatedthe association between educational expectations and negative affect (39%). Our gender-specific structural equation model demonstrated that this relationship was more pronounced for girls, suggesting girls are more vulnerable to negative affect as a result of experiencing higher levels of fear of failing.
Conclusions: The findingssuggest that fear-of-failure partially explains the association between educational expectations and negativeaffect and that this association is more pronounced for girls. This study provides insights into better understanding adolescent stress-related complaints, and the differential role fear of failing has in regards to gender.