College self-efficacy and academic performance in Mexican American undergraduates

Grounded in Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994, 2000), the current study examines environmental and person-cognitive variables as predictors of academic performance among a sample of 194 Mexican American undergraduate students. Specifically, this study used multiple regression analysis to test the associations between college self-efficacy (course self-efficacy and social self-efficacy), proximal contextual influences (campus climate and cultural fit), and gender on the academic performance (self reported grade point average, GPA). Results indicated that course self-efficacy was a significant predictor of academic performance for Mexican American undergraduate students. In addition, social self-efficacy, positive perceptions of the campus climate, and cultural fit were associated with high self-efficacy. This study contributes to our knowledge of college student development in general, and academic attainment among Mexican Americans specifically. Practice and research recommendations are discussed.