The impact of different types of academic stress on subcomponents of executive function in high school students of different grades

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2025.0018

Abstract

Abstract: Academic stress, as the most universally experienced potential risk factor during adolescence, has a significant impact on the development of executive function in high school students. However, existing research exploring the relationship between academic stress and executive function either fails to account for the multidimensional nature of academic stress or overlooks the separability of executive function, leading to numerous discrepancies in research conclusions. To resolve the controversies present in existing research, a systematic investigation of the role of different types of academic stress (parental stress, teacher stress, social stress, and self-imposed stress) on various components of executive function was performed, and whether this impact pattern changes as students advance through high school grades was assessed.
A total of 985 students from grades 10 to 12 completed academic stress questionnaires and computerized executive function tasks. Interference inhibition and response inhibition were measured using the Stroop and Go/No-go tasks, respectively. The capacity of working memory was assessed using digit span forward and backward tasks, while the working memory-updating ability was evaluated using simple digit-updating tasks (update 1750) and complex digit-updating tasks (update 750). The students' attention-switching ability was examined using digit-switching tasks. Finally, the effects of different types of academic stress on the subcomponents of executive function in high school students of different grades were explored using correlational analysis and structural equation modeling methods.
The results found that, compared to teacher and social stress, parental stress is the most significant negative predictor of various components of executive function in high school students. Additionally, as students progress through high school, the negative predictive effects of parental and teacher stress on the components of executive function gradually increase, while the negative predictive effect of social stress gradually decreases. In contrast, self-imposed stress showed a positive predictive effect on high school students' interference inhibition, response inhibition, and attention-switching capabilities, which intensified with advancing grades.
These results indicate that different types of academic stress play varying roles in the subcomponents of executive function among high school students, and that this impact pattern changes as students advance through high school grades. Specifically, external stress, particularly parental and teacher stress, has a more significant negative impact on the executive functions of high school students, and this effect intensifies at higher grades. Conversely, self-imposed stress exhibits positive benefits on executive function, which also increase with advancing grades. Overall, the conclusions of this study provide theoretical and practical bases to help future educators to devise more effective strategies for helping high school students cope with academic stress.

Key words: executive function, academic stress, high school students, structural equation modeling

MA Chao, WANG Yanyun, FU Junjun, ZHAO Xin. (2025). The impact of different types of academic stress on subcomponents of executive function in high school students of different grades. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 57(1), 18-35.

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