The Level of Academic Self-Handicapping among Jordanian University Students in Light of Some Variables
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Jun 4, 2025
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Mohammad Baker Nofal
https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5349-9386
Ferial Mohammad Abu Awwad
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0975-7208
https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5349-9386
Ferial Mohammad Abu Awwad
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0975-7208
Abstract
The current study aimed to investigate the level of academic self-handicapping among a sample of Jordanian university students in the light of some variables. The descriptive survey approach was used. To achieve the objectives of the study, the Academic Self-Handicapping scale (Gupta & Geetika, 2020) was applied to a random sample of 356 participants (84 male and 272 female students) who were selected using the simple random method. The content validity of the scale was verified, the results of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis were extracted, and the loadings of the items with the extracted factors were derived. The reliability of the scale was verified by the internal consistency method using the Cronbach Alpha equation (0.812), and by the split-half-method corrected with the Spearman-Brown equation (0.777). The results indicated a medium degree of academic self-handicapping among university students, and that there was no statistically significant effect at the level of significance (0.05) in each of the subscales of Academic Self-Handicapping due to the student's gender, the type of his school or academic year. The results also indicated that there is a weak correlation between the subscales of the Academic Self-Handicapping scale and the student’s academic achievement. The study concluded with a number of recommendations, of which are conducting more studies aiming at standardizing the scale of academic self-handicapping in the Jordanian environment, and conducting comparative studies between school and university education students with an eye on the degree of academic self-handicapping among each.
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Keywords
Academic self-handicappingBehavioral self-handicappingProblems when preparing an activityFailure to control attention
References
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Yu, J., & McLellan, R. (2019). Beyond academic achievement goals: The importance of social achievement goals in explaining gender differences in self-handicapping. Learning and Individual Differences, 69. 33-44. 10.1016/j.lindif.2018.11.010.
Zarshenas, L., Jahromi, L., Jahromi, M., & Manshadi, M. (2019). Self–handicapping among nursing students: An interventional study. BMC Med Educ 19, 26.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-018-1441-6
Zhang, I. Y., Powell, D. M., & Bonaccio, S. (2021). The role of fear of negative evaluation in interview anxiety and social‐evaluative workplace anxiety. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsa.12365
Atoum, A. (2020). Self-handicapping and its relation to self-efficacy among Yarmouk University Jordanian students. Current Research Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities. 2. 93-102. 10.12944/CRJSSH.2.2.05.
Bakker, B. & De Vries, D. (2021). Job demands–resources theory and self- regulation: New explanations and remedies for job burnout. Anxiety Stress Coping 34, 1–21. doi: 10.1080/10615806.2020.1797695
Boruchovitch, E., Rufini, S. E., Ganda, D. R., Miranda, L. C., & De Almeida, L. S. (2022). Self-handicapping strategies in educational context: Construction and validation of the Brazilian Self-Handicapping Strategies Scale (EEAPREJ). Psicologia, Reflexao e Critica: Revista Semestral do Departamento de Psicologia da UFRGS, 35(1), 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41155-022-00210-6
Coudevylle, G., Boulley-Escriva, G., Finez, L., Eugene, K., & Robin, N. (2020). An experimental investigation of claimed self-handicapping strategies across motivational climates based on achievement goal and self-determination theories. Educational Psychology, 40, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2020.17462 37
Dorothea, W. (2022). Why externalizes failure? Social goals, engagement and self-handicapping in the concern of eastern cultural community, Cogent Education, 9:1, 2140541, doi: 10.1080/2331186X.2022.2140541
Goagoses, N., Itenge, H., Winschiers-Theophilus, H., & Koglin, U. (2021). The influence of social achievement goals on academic engagement: A cross-sectional survey in a Namibian primary school. South African Journal of Psychology, 51(3), 356–368. https://doi.org/10.1177/0081246320957291
Gupta, D., & ArpanaKumari, M. (2021). Self-handicapping–role of fragile self-esteem. European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine, 7(7), 6362-6365
Gupta, S. & Geetika, M. (2020). Academic Self-Handicapping Scale: Development and validation in Indian context. International Journal of Instruction, 13(4), 87-102.https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2020.1346a
Izadpanah, S. & Charmi, M. (2022). The effect of social networks on academic self-handicapping with the mediating role of self-regulatory learning strategies and academic achievement among EFL students. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 987381. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.987381
Jia, J., Wang, L., Xu, B., Lin, H., Zhang, B., & Jiang, Q. (2021). Self-handicapping in Chinese medical students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of academic anxiety, procrastination and hardiness. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 741821. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.741821
Kamuk, U. (2022). Self-handicapping and Its value in sports. Turkish Journal of Sport and Exercise, 24(2), 208-218. Retrieved from: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/tsed/issue/72480/934732
Kaur, M. & Raji, N. (2022) The Self-Handicapping Scale: Development and validation in Indian context. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 6(9), 234-243.
Khaneghahi, S., Nasripour, F., & Mahmoud Zehi, M. A. (2022). Investigating the relationship between e-learning and mobile learning on students' academic self- handicapping during the outbreak of COVID-19. J. Social, Humanity, and Educ. 2, 269–281. doi: 10.35912/jshe.v2i3.1051
Lee, A., Fleck, B., & Richmond, S. (2021). Exploring the relations of academic self -handicapping with achievement goals among urban, underrepresented minority, middle school students. Educational Research: Theory and Practice, 32(2), 79–105. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1296528
Mansournia, S., and Karimi, K. (2020). The relationship between academic achievement and self-handicapping due to mediating effect of academic burnout among university students. The Scientific Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 9(3), 254-264. doi: 10.22037/jrm.2020.111571.2066
Melhem, A. (2022). Prediction of academic self-handicapping based on self-control among University students. Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences, 17(1), 134–147. https://doi.org/10.18844/cjes.v17i1.6691
Putwain, W. (2019). An examination of the self-referent executive processing model of test anxiety: Control, emotional regulation, self-handicapping, and examination performance. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 34, 341-358. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212 018-0383-z
Şahin, F. & Çoban, Ö. (2020). Effect of school climate, students 'self-handicapping behaviors and demographic characteristics' on Students' achievement.. Inquiry in Education, 12(2), Article 6. Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/ie/vol12/iss2/6
Schwinger, M., Trautner, M., Pütz, N., Fabianek, S., Lemmer, G., Lauermann, F., & Wirthwein, L. (2021). Why do students use strategies that hurt their chances of academic success? A meta-analysis of antecedents of academic self-handicapping. Journal of Educational Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000706
Shin, H. & Park, S. W. (2021). Perception of self-handicapping behavior in the workplace: Not that great. Curr. Psychol. 40, 910–918. doi: 10.1007/s12144-018-0013-6
Theobald, M. (2021). A meta-analysis of self-regulated learning training programs enhances university students’ academic performance, self-regulated learning strategies, and motivation. Contemp. Educ. Psychol., 1(83). doi: 10.1016/j. cedpsych.2021.101976
Török, L., Szabó, Z. P., & Orosz, G. (2022). Promoting a growth mindset decreases behavioral self-handicapping among students who are on the fixed side of the mindset continuum. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 7454. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-11547-4
Yıldırım, F. & Demir, A. (2020). Self-handicapping among university students: The role of procrastination, test anxiety, self-esteem, and self-compassion. Psychological Reports, 123(3), 825–843. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294118825099
Yu, J., & McLellan, R. (2019). Beyond academic achievement goals: The importance of social achievement goals in explaining gender differences in self-handicapping. Learning and Individual Differences, 69. 33-44. 10.1016/j.lindif.2018.11.010.
Zarshenas, L., Jahromi, L., Jahromi, M., & Manshadi, M. (2019). Self–handicapping among nursing students: An interventional study. BMC Med Educ 19, 26.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-018-1441-6
Zhang, I. Y., Powell, D. M., & Bonaccio, S. (2021). The role of fear of negative evaluation in interview anxiety and social‐evaluative workplace anxiety. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsa.12365
How to Cite
Nofal, Mohammad Baker, and Ferial Mohammad Abu Awwad. 2025. “The Level of Academic Self-Handicapping Among Jordanian University Students in Light of Some Variables”. Journal of Educational Sciences – Qatar University 25 (1). https://doi.org/10.29117/jes.2025.0208.
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Articles in Arabic