Positive Emotions, Autonomy Support and Academic Performance of University Students: The Mediating Role of Academic Engagement and Self-Efficacy [Emociones Positivas, Apoyo a la Autonomía y Rendimiento de Estudiantes Universitarios: El Papel Mediador del Compromiso Académico y la Autoeficacia]

The overall objective of this study is to check if some variables such as autonomy support and positive affect experienced in the classroom are predictors of academic performance through self-efficacy and engagement in university students. The tested model confirm the expected results but notes that the self-efficacy does not shown a significant direct effect on performance. Therefore, a second model is tested. We include self-efficacy as a predictor of academic engagement eliminating direct effect of this variable on performance. The results show a greater adjustment in the second model, so that (1) positive emotions and autonomy support predict academic performance, self-efficacy and academic engagement (2) self-efficacy predicts higher levels of academic engagement and this variable improves academic performance (3) indirect effects also show that there are a mediation of these variables on the predictive relationship of autonomy support and positive emotions on performance. © 2017, Escuela Universitaria de Magisterio. All right reserved.