Mediation of Mindsets in the Relationship Between Perceived Parental Psychological Control and Learned Helplessness Among Secondary School Students in Kenya
| dc.contributor.author | Nzioki, Gideon Keli | |
| dc.contributor.author | Ngunu, Susan Njeri | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-10-14T12:19:00Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-10-14T12:19:00Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-05 | |
| dc.description | Article | |
| dc.description.abstract | Low motivation and passivity towards learning tasks resulting from perceptions of uncontrollability of outcomes is a persistent problem in schools. Literature has attributed this to the development of learned helplessness. Despite the adverse effects of learned helplessness in such aspects as decreased academic performance, self-destructive strategies, maladjusted behaviour, and depression, the construct remains largely unexplored among the Kenyan secondary school population Kenya. Additionally, findings on dispositional and contextual antecedents of learned helplessness remain equivocal. Against this background, the current study purposed to establish the prediction of learned helplessness from perceived parental psychological control. Further, the study explored the mediation of mindsets in the relationship. Using a cross-sectional research design, the study involved 383form three students in Makueni County, Kenya. The study utilized full structural equation modeling to investigate the relationships among perceived parental psychological control, mindsets, and learned helplessness. Both perceived paternal (β = .19, p< 0.01) and maternal (β = .25, p< 0.01) psychological control significantly predicted learned helplessness. Mindsets partially mediated the relationship between both perceived paternal and maternal psychological control and learned helplessness. These findings highlight the dynamics between parental psychological control, mindsets, and learned helplessness. A key recommendation is that any interventions aimed at reducing learned helplessness among secondary school students may be more effective if they targeted reducing psychological control and adoption of incremental mindsets. | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Nzioki, G. K., & Ngunu, S. N. (2024). Mediation of Mindsets in the Relationship Between Perceived Parental Psychological Control and Learned Helplessness Among Secondary School Students in Kenya. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 8(5), 460-473. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2024.805035 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/31724 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | RSIS International | |
| dc.title | Mediation of Mindsets in the Relationship Between Perceived Parental Psychological Control and Learned Helplessness Among Secondary School Students in Kenya | |
| dc.type | Article |