Abstract
Understanding the psychosocial factors that positively and negatively impact academic performance is important to help students succeed and persist in higher education. In this article, we conducted a scoping review to clarify and identify the psychosocial factors affecting university students’ academic performance. The initial search returned 1657 articles and 36 articles met the inclusion criteria. Inspection of the articles was conducted to identify the relationship between psychological and social variables on academic performance. We found that psychosocial factors were significantly related to university students’ academic performance. Specifically, academic performance was often correlated with social support, motivation, stress, satisfaction, self-efficacy, anxiety and depression, prior academic achievement, study effort, adjustment, family, and emotions. This scoping review defines what constitutes a psychosocial factor within the context of university students’ academic performance. We encourage future research to explore the understudied psychosocial variables and not overlook the role of social factors on academic performance.
Context and implications
Rationale for this study
This article aims to clarify and identify the psychosocial factors affecting university students’ academic performance.
Why the new findings matter
The findings contribute to the existing literature by showing that psychosocial factors are related to university students’ academic performance. Further, this review defines what constitutes a psychosocial factor within the context of university students’ academic performance.
Implications
This scoping review provides initial results to define what constitutes a psychosocial factor within the context of university students’ academic performance. The implications of this review include directing future research to explore the impact of psychosocial variables identified on academic performance. Further, this review provides higher education providers and educators with insight into what psychological and social factors are impacting their students’ academic performance. By utilising the information presented, institutions can begin to identify the types of psychosocial support they can offer to help sustain and improve the academic outcomes of their students.