The aim of this study is to examine the relationships between mindful attentiveness, stress and well-being, the distribution of resources (economic and cultural capital) and university students’ grades (n = 2292). In doing so, the study applies a longitudinal design with intent to measure these aspects in the time leading up to exams and subsequently the period after examinations. Between these two measurements, information on the students’ examinations, field of study and grade average were collected and merged with the answers to the two surveys.
The analysis of this study consists of two parts, the first being the period leading up to the examinations. In analysing the effects of mindful attentiveness, stress, well-being and the distribution of resources on grades, fixed effects OLS models was used to absorb the effects of unobserved heterogeneity between fields of study. In doing so, the study found that mothers’ educational attainment and fathers’ socioeconomic status has a positive effect on grades while the level of stress has a negative effect. No interaction between these indicators of social background (SES) and stress were found, meaning stress effects students of all backgrounds negatively while SES still has a positive effect on grades when controlling for indicators of mental health. Along with these results, the analysis shows how less study effort, age and not being ethnic Danish has negative effects on grades. Mindful attentiveness and well-being before examinations were not found to have significant effects on students’ grades. Furthermore, the analysis shows the strongest relationship to students’ grades being previous academic grades which indicates that the students’ performance levels are very consistent. In analysing the period after the exams, propensity score matching was applied with two treatments being respectively a markedly drop and a markedly rise in grades for this round of examinations in comparison to the individual student’s general performance level. The analysis shows how students’ level of attentiveness, stress and well-being after examinations are much more related to grades as a whole than to how the individual student has performed in comparison to that student’s normal performance level. The only treatment effect that showed significant results was the level of stress if the student had experience a markedly drop in grade level in this exam. No positive effects were found from the treatment being a markedly rise in grade level respectively to how the student normally performs. All in all, the effects of examinations on stress and well-being are strongest when compared to grades to the whole range of grades as oppose to the students’ normal performance levels.