LAUSR

Objectives: Student athletes encounter significant challenges during school‐to‐college transitions that can increase stress and undermine academic adjustment (Heelis & Shields, 2015). An attribution‐based motivation treatment (Perry et al., 2014) was administered to student athletes who differed in perceived stress to improve short‐ and long‐term academic performance. Methods: In a two‐semester, quasi‐experimental, randomized treatment study, we examined the efficacy of an attribution‐based motivation treatment (Attributional Retraining; AR) for competitive student athletes (N = 185) who differed in perceived stress (low, high). A theory‐based path analysis assessed whether AR‐performance effects were mediated by perceived academic control (PAC) and achievement emotions. Results: High‐stress student athletes who received AR outperformed their no‐treatment counterparts by roughly one letter grade on a Semester 1 post‐treatment class test. Consistent with Weiner's attribution theory (1985, 2012) of motivation and emotions, AR‐performance effects were mediated by cognitive and affective process variables. For high‐stress athletes, AR fostered course‐related PAC, which in turn increased positive and reduced negative affect, which in combination promoted final course grades. Conclusions: AR effects on performance for high‐stress student athletes were indirect via cognitive and affective mediators consistent with Weiner's attribution theory (1985, 2012). Findings suggest attribution‐based motivation treatments have practical implications for athletic programs, administrators, coaches, and directors in facilitating adjustment for high‐stress student athletes. HighlightsA motivation treatment (Attributional Retraining) was delivered to college athletes.AR promoted post‐treatment course test scores for high‐stress athletes only.AR's effects on final grades were mediated by cognitive and affective processes.Perceived stress moderates the AR→perceived control→emotions→performance sequence.