Understanding the role of preservice teachers’ attachment in shaping core self-evaluations: the mediating effect of academic emotions in teacher education contexts

Background: Core self evaluations (CSE) are critical for preservice teachers' professional functioning, yet the emotional and attachment related processes that shape CSE remain understudied. This study tested whether academic emotions mediate associations between attachment orientations and CSE. Methods: A sample of 307 preservice teachers completed self report measures of attachment anxiety and a composite of closeness and dependence, six discrete academic emotions (disappointment, interest, pride, shame, hope, pleasure), and the Core Self Evaluations Scale. We conducted correlational analyses, hierarchical multiple regression, and bootstrapped mediation analyses. Results: = 0.47). Disappointment emerged as the strongest negative predictor of CSE. Bootstrapped mediation models indicated that disappointment fully mediated the negative association between attachment anxiety and CSE, whereas interest and pride jointly mediated the positive association between the closeness and dependence composite and CSE. Conclusion: Academic emotions, particularly disappointment, play a central role in translating attachment orientations into preservice teachers' core self evaluations. Interventions that reduce academic disappointment and cultivate interest and pride, alongside efforts to foster secure attachment related experiences, may bolster preservice teachers' professional self evaluations.