opportunities and a prerequisite for a wide range of career choices. As educational attainment and workplace requirements rise,

the pressure students face in relation to school has been further amplified (Högberg, 2021). A survey by the Ministry of Health

and Welfare (2023) showed that approximately 80% of high school students in Taiwan aspire to obtain a university degree

or higher, with schoolwork being the most troubling issue in their daily lives (45%). Disagreements between teenagers and

parents mainly stem from academic and admission-related issues. Concurrently, 60% of students worry about poor academic

performance, and 50% report that their mood for the entire day is affected by homework or exam results (Child Welfare League

Foundation, 2023). The domestic surveys reflect that the majority of adolescents experience uncomfortable feelings during

the learning process, indicating that this phenomenon is no longer an individual adaptation issue for students, but a pervasive

concern among the adolescent population. Stress, anxiety, helplessness, and confusion have become inseparable companions to

high school life.

In addition to examining domestic data, the latest 2021–2022 Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) survey

by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2023) found that 15-year-olds have the poorest overall mental health, and as age

increases, adolescents’ well-being declines while physical and mental distress rises. Over the past two decades, a growing

proportion of students in most European countries and Canada have been noticeably affected by academic stress, with an

increasing rate of distress (Löfstedt et al., 2020). Numerous studies have demonstrated the close association between academic

stress and mental health, substance use, sleep, and physical health (Pascoe et al., 2020). Thus, an in-depth exploration of the

impacts of academic stress and its protective factors is an issue that cannot be overlooked in the fields of education and public

health.

There is a wealth of research on academic stress and emotional distress. Many empirical studies have highlighted the

correlation between stress and negative emotions such as anxiety and depression (e.g., Arsenio & Loria, 2014; Feiss et al., 2019;

Santiago et al., 2017), focusing on how to buffer the physical and mental problems caused by stress. Social support, resilience,

grit, self-efficacy, emotional regulation, and basic psychological needs have been found to be important process factors in this

context (Çınar-Tanrıverdi & Karabacak-Çelik, 2023; Trevethan et al., 2022; Watson & Watson, 2016). However, few studies

have carefully examined the relationship between academic stress and individuals’ experiences of various discrete emotions in the learning process. In fact, academic emotions not only result from learning activities but also shape students’ views of courses

and teachers throughout the learning process, either facilitating or hindering subsequent learning (Camacho-Morles et al., 2021;

Pekrun et al., 2002). Therefore, students’ feelings during the learning process have long been a focus in educational psychology,

especially since students spend a significant amount of time in learning environments daily, and their emotional experiences

during this process are core elements constituting psychological well-being and health (Pekrun et al., 2023).

Previous research has indicated that academic emotions are closely related to variables such as goal structures, learning

motivation, cognitive attribution strategies, and expectations of success (Hailikari et al., 2022; Huang & Cherng, 2021; Mao et

al., 2008; Peng & Cherng, 2023; Zhang et al., 2021). Thus, to understand students’ learning processes, academic emotions are

an indispensable factor. However, past research on academic emotions has largely focused on specific emotions such as anxiety,

anger, boredom and, enjoyment (Camacho-Morles et al., 2021), and tend to categorize emotions based on valence (positive

and negative), lacking studies integrating more than three discrete emotions (Pekrun et al., 2023). Given the diverse nature of

emotions in learning contexts (Pekrun et al., 2002) and the important functions of different emotions in shaping thoughts and

actions (Pekrun et al., 2023), this study follows three-dimensional taxonomy of achievement emotions framework (Pekrun et al.,

2023) to investigate the influencing factors of different academic emotions.

Among the various factors influencing academic emotions, basic psychological needs have emerged as a popular topic

(Qian et al., 2022; Trigueros et al., 2019). According to self-determination theory, when psychological needs are satisfied,

individuals can develop adaptive advantages. Conversely, when psychological needs are unfulfilled or frustrated, maladaptive

ripple effects may occur. During adolescence, in particular, the developmental tasks of pursuing autonomy, defining social roles,

and facing interpersonal issues correspond to the three basic psychological needs. Furthermore, research evidence has showed

that school counseling interventions that satisfy basic psychological needs are an effective approach to cultivating positive

attitudes and healthy emotions in adolescents (Arsenio & Loria, 2014; Li et al., 2016). Since the satisfaction and frustration of

basic psychological needs are related to individuals’ subjective experiences and internal responses in specific situations, they

can explain the influence of social contextual factors on individuals (Vansteenkiste, 2020). Therefore, exploring the satisfaction

and frustration of individuals’ basic psychological needs provides insights into the possible process of emotional responses

when facing stressful events. The process aligns well with Skinner’s (2023) integrated model of academic motivation, which

posits that variables in an individual’s social environmental context influence their behavioral and academic emotional patterns

through the operation of motivation-related self-systems (such as basic psychological needs and psychological resilience).

The role of basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration in Taiwanese adolescent populations, as well as the

mechanism of basic psychological needs in academic contexts, has not been thoroughly investigated and urgently requires

systematic analysis. This study collects empirical data to examine the current status of academic stress, basic psychological

needs, and academic emotions among high school students in Taiwan. Based on the research findings, concrete and effective

suggestions are proposed to assist high school students in effectively coping with academic stress, experiencing autonomy,

competence, and positive interpersonal connections, and enjoying a fulfilling and happy campus life.

The main research findings are as follows: (1) High school students’ academic stress was positively correlated with

basic psychological need frustration and academic emotions such as anxiety, shame, hopelessness and frustration, and

negatively correlated with basic psychological need satisfaction and hope; (2) basic psychological need satisfaction was

positively correlated with joy, hope, and pride and negatively correlated with anxiety, hopelessness, shame, and frustration.

Basic psychological needs frustration was negatively correlated with joy, hope, pride and positively correlated with anxiety,

hopelessness, shame, and frustration; (3) basic psychological need satisfaction partially mediated the relationships between

academic stress and joy as well as hopelessness, and fully mediated the relationships between academic stress and hope as well

as pride; and (4) basic psychological need frustration partially mediated the relationships between academic stress and joy,

hopelessness, anxiety, shame, and frustration, and fully mediated the relationship between academic stress and hope.

Limitations and recommendations for future research: (1) Expand the research sample to improve the generalizability of

the findings; (2) adopt high-quality, concise measurement tools; (3) increase data sources by combining psychological and

physiological measurements; (4) conduct longitudinal studies to evaluate the developmental trajectories and causal relationships

between academic stress and academic emotions; (5) continue exploring the influencing factors of basic psychological needs

and academic emotions; (6) investigate the impact of basic psychological need satisfaction-frustration on adolescents’ learning processes; and (7) carefully consider the measurement methods of academic emotions based on research objectives.

Educational practice recommendations: (1) To enhance positive learning emotions in adolescents, the satisfaction of their

basic psychological needs must be emphasized; (2) reduce learning and living environments that frustrate basic psychological

needs, mitigating negative impacts on academic emotions; and (3) recognize the adverse effects of academic stress on the

emotions of high school students.