Do Just World Beliefs Predict Academic Resilience and Optimism Through Locus of Control in Australian Adolescents and Does Age Moderate the Mediation Effects?

Abstract

In 2019, secondary school populations are comprised of a generation growing up in a technology rich environment where participation is rewarded and protection from failure is prioritised. Accordingly, enhancing the resilience of students artificially without negatively effecting wellbeing is a challenge faced by educators the world over. Schools employ explicit programs teaching optimism and resilience obviously and with such repetition, they can become impertinent and disengaging for students. With perceived justice and a sense of control linked with optimism and academic resilience in the literature, this study builds on previous research by identifying age as a moderator of the indirect effects just world beliefs have on the dependent variables through locus of control. Analysis of the results from self-report questionnaires completed by over 1000 secondary school students from two Adelaide schools demonstrate that relationships between these variables are significant for all age levels, with the indirect effects of just world beliefs dampened as students enter senior school. This research indicates the potential for developing a more covert and interesting intervention for schools supporting optimism and academic resilience in the future by enhancing just world beliefs and locus of control targeting middle school students to have maximum effect.