The impact of achievement goal orientations on perceived stress: the moderating role of proactive personality

Objective: This study aimed to examine the interactive effects of achievement goal orientations and proactive personality on perceived stress among college students, with a particular focus on challenge and hindrance stressors. Methods: A total of 648 college students participated in the study. Achievement goal orientations were specified as predictors, proactive personality was examined as a moderator, and perceived stress (including challenge stressors and hindrance stressors) served as the outcome variables. Age and gender were included as control variables. Moderation analyses were conducted to test the interactive effects. Results: Results showed that proactive personality significantly moderated the relationship between performance-approach goals and challenge stressors, such that a higher level of proactive personality attenuated the positive association between performance-approach goals and challenge stressors. No significant moderation effects were found for other types of achievement goal orientations on challenge stressors. In contrast, for hindrance stressors, proactive personality consistently weakened the positive associations between all types of achievement goal orientations and perceived stress. Conclusion: These findings highlight the important role of proactive personality in shaping how achievement goal orientations influence stress perceptions. The study advances theoretical understanding of the combined effects of motivational and personality factors on stress appraisal and offers practical implications for developing stress management interventions for college students.