Evitación al fracaso en estudiantes universitarios: rol mediador entre funcionamiento familiar y rendimiento académico

Alan Alexis Mercado-Ruiz; Rubén Andrés Miranda-Rodríguez; Mirna García; Gabriela Carolina Valencia Chávez

doi:10.24320/redie.2026.28.especial.e03.7887

Authors

Alan Alexis Mercado-Ruiz National Autonomous University of Mexico https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6050-3783
Rubén Andrés Miranda-Rodríguez National Autonomous University of Mexico https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2734-6856
Mirna García National Autonomous University of Mexico https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2334-0740
Gabriela Carolina Valencia Chávez National Autonomous University of Mexico https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3447-2789

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24320/redie.2026.28.especial.e03.7887

Keywords:

family environment, academic achievement, achievement motivation, university students

Abstract

The relationship between family functioning and academic performance in college has been widely documented, but fewer studies have examined the motivational processes involved in this association. This study explored the role of failure avoidance in the relationship between family functioning and academic performance in Mexican college students. The participants comprised 336 undergraduate students, aged 18 to 25 years (M = 20.42, SD = 1.25), of whom 63.4% were female. Three instruments validated for the Mexican population were administered to evaluate family functioning, academic motivation, and academic performance in college. The data were analyzed using Pearson correlations and mediation models. The results showed significant associations between dimensions of family functioning, failure avoidance, and academic performance. In particular, failure avoidance was indirectly associated with the relationship between indicators of family functioning and dimensions of academic performance. Additionally, sex differences were observed in study dedication and failure avoidance. Together, the findings suggest that the relationship between family environment and academic performance can be better understood through the defensive motivational processes involved in students’ academic experience.

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