학습된 무기력의 포괄적 예측 변인으로서 개인정서적응의 중요성 검증

This study examined the effects of college students’ university adjustment on the overall sub-factors of learned helplessness, thereby verifying the importance of personal–emotional adjustment as a comprehensive predictor of learned helplessness. Data were collected in 2025 from students enrolled at C University, and a total of 317 responses were used for the final analysis. The major findings are as follows. First, academic adjustment to university was found to have no statistically significant effect on students’ learned helplessness. This suggests that the level of adaptation to academic demands does not necessarily lead to a reduction in learned helplessness. Second, higher levels of interpersonal adjustment significantly decreased the subfactor of reduced sense of competence within learned helplessness. This finding indicates that positive relationships with peers and professors may function as important protective factors in maintaining students’ sense of competence. Third, lower levels of personal–emotional adjustment significantly increased all subfactors of learned helplessness, including decreased sense of competence, reduced persistence in learning, and diminished active task performance. This result implies that emotional instability and negative emotional experiences are directly associated with decreased motivation and withdrawal in learning contexts. The significance of this study lies in its empirical demonstration that learned helplessness among university students does not merely stem from a lack of academic ability or skills, but is closely related to deficiencies in emotional regulation capacity. Accordingly, in university educational settings, for students experiencing learned helplessness, psychoeducational interventions aimed at enhancing emotional regulation skills and emotional adaptability should be prioritized over academic skills training or learning strategy instruction, as supported by empirical evidence.