Research on the relationship between educational performance and psychological resilience among rngineering students. a Chilean study

Research reveals strong evidence connecting an individual’s resilience to their academic success. Psychological resilience in early adulthood is conceptualized as comprising the dimensions hope, self-esteem and mental health wellbeing. In order to better understand the relationship between academic success and resilience a total of 152 students (male= 121, and female = 31) from an Engineering Faculty within a Chilean University took part in the study. Of these 152 students, 20 high-achieving males, and 20 high-achieving females’ students were randomly selected and their resilience and academic performance were compared. All students completed a well-being survey, and their academic results were compared to their well-being responses. Data revealed that female students had lower scores on all firstyear engineering subjects compared to their male counterparts. More specifically, high-achieving male engineering students reported of having higher self-esteem than their female counterparts, and male student’s self-esteem was correlated with high academic achievement. The study found that mental health, well-being and positive aspirations were positively correlated with academic achievement. Implications of the study are discussed in terms of well-being within a gender context; specifically, for engineering students and faculties. We conclude that the findings support a conceptual framework suggesting reciprocal relationships between health, health behavior and educational achievement. Comprehensive health promotion programs, such as CARE, may have the potential to influence relevant predictors of educational achievement in university students.