The Influence Of Attachment Style, Academic Self - Concept And Perfectionism On College Students' Achievement Goals

Achievement goals have been demonstrated to affect individuals’ achievement-related motivational, affective, cognitive and behavioral outcomes (Chen&Zhang,2011; Moller&Elliot,2006). Therefore, both personal and environmental factors have been considered by researchers to be the underlying sources of different achievement goals. According to the hierarchical model of achievement motivation (Elliot,1999,2006), attachment style, academic self-concept, and perfectionism are personal factors and respectively regarded as relationally based, self-based, and personality variables. To our knowledge, no research has been published to address the relationship of achievement goals to attachment style, academic self-concept, and perfectionism simultaneously. Meanwhile, as representation of parent-child relationship, attachment style affects individuals’ psychosocial development, such as self-concept and personality (Shaver&Mikulincer,2009). To our knowledge, no study has examined the possible mediating roles of academic self-concept and perfectionism in the relationship between attachment style and achievement goals. In this sense, the present research has two objectives. First, it aimed to investigate the prediction of four achievement goals from retrospective parent-child attachment, academic self-concept and perfectionism. Second, this research also explored whether the prediction of achievement goals from attachment style was mediated by academic self-concept and perfectionism.This research consisted of pilot study and main study. Pilot study tended to investigate the psychometric properties of the questionnaires used in the research and preliminarily tested the influence of parent-child attachment, academic self-concept, and perfectionism on achievement goals. Main study constructed a model of the prediction of achievement goals from parent-child attachment, academic self-concept, and perfecctionism and tested the goodness of model fit through structural equation model based on the results of pilot study. In pilot study, a sample of187students (male=108, female=79) from Nanjing University, Nanjing Normal University, and Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics were recruited. The average age of the participants was21.66(SD=1.24) years. In main study, a sample of363students (male=112, female=251) from the same three universities were recruited. The average age of the participants was20.20(SD=1.21) years. All the participants in main study completed the The Achievement Goal Measure-Revised, Retrospective Reports of Parental Behavior, Multidimensional Self Concept Scale (the academic self-concept part), The Chinese Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, and The Positive Perfectionism Questionare. The former four instruments were revised in pilot study.The common research findings of the two studies go as follows. Firstly, mother-child secure attachment, positive perfectionism and academic self-concept significantly and positively predicted mastery-approach goals. Father-child secure attachment, positive and negative perfectionsim significantly and positively predicted mastery-avoidance goals. Father-child avoidant attachment and negative perfectionism significantly and positively predicted performance-approach goals. Negative perfectionism and academic self-concept were positive and negative predictors of performance-avoidance goals, respectively. Secondly, the relationship between mother-child avoidant attachment and performance-avoidance goals was fully mediated by academic self-concept. The relationship between father-child secure attachment and mastery-avoidance goals was fully mediated by positive perfectionism. However, pilot study and main study also had its own findings. Main study showed that father-child secure attachment, father-child avoidant attachment, and positive perfectionism significantly and positively predicted mastery-approach, performance-avoidance and performance-approach goals, respectively. Academic self-concept fully mediated the relationships between father-child and mother-child avoidant attachment and mastery-approach goals, and also fully mediated the relationship between father-child avoidant attachment and performance-avoidance goals. Positive perfectionism fully mediated the relationships between father-child and mother-child secure attachment and mastery-approach and performance-approach goals, and also fully mediated the relationship between mother-child secure attachment and mastery-approach goals. Negative perfectionsim fully mediated the relationships between mother-child anxious attachment and master-avoidance, performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals. Pilot study found that mother-child secure attachment significantly and positively predicted performance-approach goals. Father-child anxious and mother-child avoidant attachment significantly and positively predicted performance-avoidance goals. Academic self-concept partly mediated the relationship between father-child anxious attachment and performance-avoidance goals. Compared with pilot study, main study found more significant relationships of achievement goals to parent-child sttachment, academic self-concept, and perfectionism, and more mediating functions of perfectionism and academic self-concept in the relationship between attachment and achievement goals. The consistent and respective research findings of pilot and main studies not only supported the research hypothses, but also bridged the identified research gaps. Futher research is necessary to achieve general conclusions on the relationship between parent-child attachment, positive and negative perfectionism, academic self-concept and achievement goals by investigating diverse student groups.This research provided evidence for the hierarchical model of achievement motivation, demonstrating the appropriateness of the2×2achievement goal framework among Chinese university students. Moreover, it also expanded the model by showing the mediating function of perfectionism and academic self-concept in the relationship between parent-child attachment and achievement goals. In conjunction with this contribution, this research also summarized other contributions and limitations, as well as the implications for higher education.