# Growth mindset and intrapersonal dimensions of social emotional skills: mediating roles of negative automatic thoughts and self-control in elementary students

## TL;DR

This study explores how a growth mindset in elementary students affects their social emotional skills through factors like negative thoughts and self-control.

## Contribution

The study identifies growth mindset's direct and indirect effects on social emotional skills via negative automatic thoughts and self-control in elementary students.

## Key findings

- Growth mindset is directly linked to intrapersonal social emotional skills in elementary students.
- Negative automatic thoughts and self-control mediate the relationship between growth mindset and these skills.
- These associations are stronger in students with a growth mindset compared to those with an indifferent mindset.

## Abstract

Although previous research has linked growth mindset to the intrapersonal dimensions of social emotional skills, little is known about how different mindset types relate to these skills. Moreover, the role of negative automatic thoughts in this relationship among Grade 5 and Grade 6 elementary students remains unclear.

This study examined the direct and indirect associations between growth mindset and the intrapersonal dimensions of social emotional skills among fifth- and sixth-grade elementary students. A total of 541 students participated in the study.

The analysis showed that growth mindset was directly associated with the intrapersonal dimensions of social emotional skills and indirectly linked through negative automatic thoughts and self-control. These associations were stronger in the growth mindset group compared with the indifferent mindset group, indicating different patterns across mindset groups.

These findings shed light on the mechanisms that link growth mindset with intrapersonal social emotional skills in elementary students.