The Influence of Traits of Resilience and Internalising Symptoms of Mental Health on the Transition From Secondary to Post‐Secondary in Canada

ABSTRACT Research on the transition from high school to university supports that over 90% of students will notice their grades decrease when entering first‐year university. However, the nature of this drop remains largely unknown. The current study proposes a path analysis model to explore the mechanism by which traits of resilience (i.e., locus of control, self‐efficacy, resilience, academic resilience and academic buoyancy) may influence grade point average (GPA) changes in students transitioning from a secondary to post‐secondary institution in Canada. The influence of student mental health on these variables was also of interest. One hundred and thirty‐nine students responded to scales assessing their locus of control (LOC), self‐efficacy, resilience, academic resilience, anxiety and depression. A basic change score was computed to quantify GPA changes during this transition. The path analysis revealed that higher self‐efficacy and internal LOC predicted higher scores of academic resilience but not GPA changes. Supplementary analyses revealed anxiety and depression were the only variables significantly related to all the model variables, including academic resilience and GPA change scores. In turn, personality constructs may influence the academic resilience of students; however, mental health may significantly influence the relationships between these constructs, academic resilience and GPA changes. Considering the COVID‐19 pandemic, the current findings may highlight the increasing impact of internalising symptoms of mental health on academic performance in a remote learning setting.