A Path Analytic Study of the Direct and Indirect Influences of Social Support, Self-Esteem, and Self-Efficacy, being mediated by Coping Style, on the Academic Performance of Myanmar Adolescent Double Orphans in Shan State

Abstract

The present study examined the direct influences of social support, self-esteem, and self-efficacy on academic performance, as well as their indirect influences, being mediated by problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping among double orphans aged 11 to 15 years residing in orphanages in Shan State, Myanmar. A total of 277 middle school students recruited from 18 orphanages via systematic sampling participated in the study by voluntarily responding to the study’s questionnaire. Path analysis indicated that for the double orphans in the study, only their reported level of self-efficacy were found to have a direct influence on their academic performance. The findings yielded no significant indirect influences, being mediated by the variables of problem-focused and emotion-focused coping style, for the three exogenous predictor variables of social support, self-esteem, and self-efficacy on the respondents’ academic performance. The study’s findings were discussed in terms of the implications they hold for how double orphans in Myanmar cope with stressors they encounter in their lives.