New Meta-Analysis Reveals the Central Role of Academic Attitudes in Immigrant Student Success

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Selvitopu, A., & Kaya, M. (2026). Well-being and academic performance among students with an immigrant background: A meta-analysis. Current Psychology, 45, 256. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-025-08654-6

Key Takeaways

  • Academic attitude emerges as the central pathway linking well-being and performance, reinforcing the relevance of relational and motivational processes in school settings.
  • Studies relying on self-reported performance yield stronger associations than those using GPA or standardized tests, suggesting important measurement effects.
  • This meta-analysis demonstrates a modest but reliable positive association between immigrant students’ well-being and academic performance, based on evidence from nearly ten thousand students across multiple countries.
    • The strength of this association depends heavily on how academic performance is defined, with the largest effects found for academic attitudes such as engagement, belonging, and motivation rather than grades or test scores.

Introduction

Does student well-being meaningfully relate to academic performance for immigrant youth, or is the connection overstated? Selvitopu and Kaya (2026) frame their meta-analysis within global migration trends and persistent achievement gaps, arguing that schools function as a critical microsystem shaping both development and learning. Drawing on multidimensional theories of well-being, they note that prior findings are mixed, often shaped by age, context, and inconsistent measurement, creating a need for synthesis.

Methods

Following PRISMA guidelines, the authors reviewed peer-reviewed studies published through 2024 that examined the association between well-being and academic performance among immigrant students. Thirteen studies met inclusion criteria, yielding fourteen independent samples and a total of 9,806 participants. Effect sizes were calculated using Fisher’s z and analyzed with random-effects models. Moderator analyses tested differences by performance domain, scale type, and contextual variables.

Results

The average effect size indicated a positive association between well-being and academic performance (r ≈ .25) among immigrant students, accompanied by very high heterogeneity. Associations were weakest for academic achievement measured by GPA or standardized tests and strongest for academic attitudes. Likert-type scales produced larger effects than objective indicators. Academic attitude was the only moderator that consistently explained variance in the meta regression models.

Discussion

The findings suggest that well-being relates most strongly to how immigrant students feel about school rather than how they score on tests. The authors caution that reliance on self-report may inflate associations, yet argue that attitudes, belonging, and engagement are meaningful educational outcomes. The results align with ecological perspectives emphasizing relationships with teachers and peers.

Implications for Mentoring Programs

For mentoring initiatives, the evidence supports prioritizing relationship quality, school belonging, and positive academic attitudes over narrow academic remediation. Programs that address social connection and identity may be especially well suited for immigrant youth. Future revisions of this work would benefit from clearer separation of subjective and objective outcomes, inclusion of intervention studies, and longer-term designs to clarify directionality.

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