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Social mobility beliefs enhance academic persistence among middle school students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds
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DOI：10.1007/s11218-026-10248-4.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds often face greater academic challenges and exhibit lower levels of academic persistence. How can this phenomenon be understood and addressed? Across three studies, we examined the impact of social class on academic persistence and its underlying psychological mechanisms. Study 1 (N = 9,083), based on nationally representative data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS), showed that social class positively predicted academic persistence. Study 2 (N = 454), a correlational study, replicated this association and identified internal attributions for wealth as a mediating mechanism. Study 3 (N = 288), an experimental study, manipulated beliefs in social mobility to test their moderating effect on the proposed mediation model. Results revealed that: (1) Students from lower social class backgrounds were less likely to make internal attributions of wealth, which in turn reduced their academic persistence; (2) Beliefs in social mobility moderated this indirect effect—under low perceived mobility, internal attributions were lower and persistence lower among students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, whereas high perceived mobility mitigated this pattern, reducing the persistence gap between social classes. These findings offer theoretical insights into the psychological processes linking social class and academic outcomes, and provide practical implications for promoting educational equity.
Keywords:
Social class
Academic persistence
Internal attributions of wealth
External attribution of wealth
Beliefs in social mobility
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