Soft Skills and Study-Related Factors: Direct and Indirect Associations with Academic Achievement and General Distress in University Students

Abstract

Numerous noncognitive factors have been shown to influence students’ academic and nonacademic outcomes, yet few studies have contemporarily studied these factors to understand their specific roles. The present study tested a model in which five soft skills (i.e., epistemic curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, perseverance, and social awareness) were conceived as personal qualities that influence achievement and general distress through the mediation of four study-related factors (i.e., achievement emotions, self-regulated learning strategies, motivational beliefs, and study resilience). A total of 606 Italian university students (153 males, Mage = 22.74, SDage = 3.72) participated in the study and completed self-report measures of soft skills, study-related factors, and general distress measures; grades were considered for academic achievement. Results showed that all four study-related factors significantly mediated the relationship of soft skills with academic achievement, while only achievement emotions and study resilience emerged as significant mediators between soft skills and general distress. Our findings indicated complex relations between individual factors and students’ outcomes due to several factors. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.