The Effectiveness of the Positive Psychology Intervention Program based on Culture, on the Self-Handicapping and Academic Risk-Taking in Students

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.

2 Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.

3 Professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

4 PhD in Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.

Abstract
Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the positive psychology intervention program based on culture, on the Self-Handicapping and Academic Risk-Taking in Students with low academic performance.E
Method: This research employed a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test and a control group. The statistical population consisted of high school students with low academic performance in Tabriz in 2024–2025.The study sample consisted of 30 students who had high scores in academic self-handicapping and low scores in academic risk-taking. They were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (15 participants each). All participants completed the Academic Self-Handicapping Scale developed by Midgley et al. (2000) and the Academic Risk-Taking Assessment Tool developed by Kilgus et al. (2015). The experimental group received 12 sessions of culturally adapted positive psychology interventions.Univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyze the data, using SPSS statistical software (version 24).
Results: The results showed that, regarding academic self-handicapping, the mean post-test scores of the experimental group were lower than those of the control group. Additionally, in terms of academic risk-taking, the mean post-test scores related to social, academic, and emotional behaviors in the experimental group were higher than the corresponding pre-test scores. These findings indicate that culture-based positive psychology interventions have a statistically significant effect on academic self-handicapping and academic risk-taking (P ≤ 0.01).
Conclusions: Based on the findings, it is recommended that school counselors and relevant authorities utilize the current intervention program, if necessary, in both clinical and educational contexts.

Keywords

Subjects

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