The two correlations between Academic Stress and Subjective Academic Achievement: the mediating roles of Emotion Regulation and Cognitive Decline, and the moderating role of Mind Wandering

This study, based on a sample of 705 social science doctoral students in China, constructs a dual-mediation model of “Academic Stress → Emotion Regulation/Cognitive Decline → Subjective Academic Achievement” and introduces Mind Wandering as a moderating variable to examine the two correlational pathways between Academic Stress and Subjective Academic Achievement. The findings reveal that: (1) Academic Stress is positively correlated with Emotion Regulation ( B = 0.322, p < 0.001), and Emotion Regulation is positively correlated with Subjective Academic Achievement ( B = 0.137, p < 0.001). Concurrently, in the negative pathway, Academic Stress is positively correlated with Cognitive Decline ( B = 0.335, p < 0.001), and Cognitive Decline is negatively correlated with Subjective Academic Achievement ( B = −0.126, p < 0.001). (2) Mind Wandering significantly moderates both pathways: under conditions of high Mind Wandering, the positive correlation between Academic Stress and Emotion Regulation is stronger, and the positive correlation between Academic Stress and Cognitive Decline is also stronger. This study reveals the potential “double-edged sword effect” of Academic Stress through the parallel mediating roles of Emotion Regulation and Cognitive Decline, and validates the double-edged moderating mechanism of Mind Wandering on the stress-transformation pathways. The findings provide theoretical foundations and practical guidance for universities to design differentiated stress intervention programs.