A person-oriented approach to agentic engagement, peer cohesion, and fear of negative evaluation in secondary school

In this study, we identified secondary school students’ profiles based on perceptions of their agentic engagement, peer cohesion, and fear of negative evaluation from others, while also considering the potential influence of other factors, namely achievement goals and perceived teacher agency support. Participants were 515 Italian secondary school students who responded to a self-report questionnaire. Adopting a person-oriented approach, we identified five latent profiles of students characterized by unique patterns of student agentic engagement, perceived peer cohesion, and fear of negative evaluation. Disconnected (12.31%) and Fearful/Isolated (28.04%) students were characterized by low levels of agentic engagement and cohesion, but with opposite levels of fear. Lukewarm (24.87%) students showed average levels across all three variables. Fearful/Connected (25.51%) and Confident (9.27%) students had medium to high levels of agentic engagement and cohesion, but different levels of fear. Overall, our results suggest a relevant role of fear of negative evaluation, but also that leaning on peers can counteract its impact, sustaining active participation in class. We also found that achievement goals and perceived teacher agency support partially distinguished the emerged profiles. Implications of the findings for practices and policies are discussed.