Psychological flexibility and emotional trajectories during a semi-high-stakes mathematics exam: Integrating...

Exams are a common source of emotions in adolescence, requiring regulation for performance and well-being. Psychological flexibility (PF), the ability to stay open to difficult thoughts and feelings while pursuing meaningful goals, and psychological inflexibility (PI), involving avoidance and self-criticism, represent adaptive and maladaptive regulation styles that remain understudied in adolescence.

We examined whether PF/PI is associated with adolescents' emotional trajectories during a semi-high-stakes mathematics examination and whether they differ by gender or mathematics performance.

Participants were 694 Finnish Year 8-9 students (48.7% girls).

Before the examination, students completed the Children's Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire (CPFQ) and reported their happiness, relaxation, frustration and boredom across seven phases of the examination. Linear mixed-effects models estimated emotional trajectories and their associations with PF factors (Committed Action and Awareness; Acceptance and Defusion; Fusion and Self-Judgement), gender and mathematical performance.

Happiness and relaxation declined during the examination and recovered afterward, whereas frustration and boredom increased. Committed Action and Awareness was associated with greater happiness and phase-specific variations in frustration, while Acceptance and Defusion were associated with higher relaxation and a stronger late-exam rebound. Greater PI (i.e. lower Fusion and Self-Judgement) was linked with lower positive and higher negative emotions. Higher mathematical performance was associated with greater happiness and relaxation, and with lower boredom. A gender interaction showed that boys with high PI reported greater boredom.

Strengthening PF skills, particularly acceptance, defusion and value-driven action, may help adolescents manage examination stress, sustain engagement and reduce boredom in academic settings.