Too Much of a Good Thing? Resilience as a Predictor of Academic Commitment in (Un)Challenging Times

Abstract

Addressing the problem of the demand for STEM jobs outstripping the supply has stimulated particular investigations of the “leaky pipeline” at early stages, that is, the vocational qualification of STEM professionals. In a longitudinal study, we investigate the development of affective commitment to STEM disciplines in students (N = 234). Given that both the academic life in, and the working context of, STEM disciplines are particularly challenging, resilience appears to be an important resource in STEM careers. By pursuing an interactionist approach, we investigate the question of if and under which circumstances resilience is particularly useful in maintaining affective commitment. Consistent with our theorizing, the results of latent growth curve modeling show the relationship between resilience as the personal ability to overcome adverse events and the development of commitment over time to be curvilinear. Whereas high levels of resilience prove beneficial in the face of adverse conditions, a too-much-of-a-good-thing effect is observed for highly resilient individuals in non-challenging environments. Our findings offer important practical and theoretical implications for addressing the leaky pipeline early by enhancing the affective commitment to STEM disciplines in students.