Achievement emotions in primary and middle school: The role of personality and emotion regulation

According to the Control-Value Theory, achievement emotions are shaped by various antecedents. Although some of them have been extensively studied, others remain less explored, especially among primary and middle school students. Accordingly, we examined how demographic variables (sex and age), personality traits, and four behavioral/cognitive emotion regulation strategies relate to 10 achievement emotions. A sample of 330 fourth, sixth, and seventh-graders self-reported their Big Five personality traits, two behavioral (Actively Approaching and Withdrawal) and two cognitive (Positive Refocusing and Catastrophizing) emotion regulation strategies they can use to handle stress situations, and five positive (enjoyment, pride, hope, relief, and relaxation) and five negative (anxiety, anger, shame, hopelessness, and boredom) school-related emotions. We conducted 10 hierarchical multiple regressions in SPSS. Females reported higher anxiety and less boredom compared to males. Additionally, older students reported experiencing less positive and more negative emotions than their younger counterparts. Regarding personality traits, Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Openness served as protective factors, whereas Neuroticism was identified as a risk factor, despite its positive association with relief. Actively Approaching and Positive Refocusing showed adaptive relational patterns, in contrast to Withdrawal and Catastrophizing. Despite limitations (e.g., sample size and cross-sectional design), our findings highlight the significance of both relatively stable traits (personality) and more malleable factors (emotion regulation strategies) in understanding school-related emotions. From a practical perspective, these results can inform the development of evidence-based interventions aimed at enhancing students’ emotion regulation skills.