Predictors of Performance and of Psychological Well-Being in Engineering Career Aspirants

Abstract

Educational deficiencies in Peru generate that many adolescents who wish to study engineering in public universities have to study at pre-university centers, this being difficult and unsatisfactory. In this context, this study aimed to identify the predictors of academic performance and psychological well-being factors in aspiring students to engineering at a prestigious public university in Peru. The sample was of 157 students (120 men (76.4%) and 37 women (23.6%)) between 15 and 22 years of age (M <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">age</sub> = 17.65, SD = 1.31), between 6 months to 4 years of pre-university studies. The results show that the educational level of the mother predicts negatively the test anxiety. Studies' time and self-efficacy positively predict academic performance. In addition, time of studies and the test anxiety predict negatively to psychological well-being. Finally, the self-efficacy predicted positively to psychological well-being.