The impact of growth mindset on adolescents’ health risk behaviors: the chain mediating roles of core self-evaluation and coping styles

Background Health risk behaviors pose serious threats to adolescents’ physical and psychological well-being as well as their long-term development. Previous studies suggest that a growth mindset can serve as a positive cognitive resource influencing such behaviors, but the underlying mechanisms remain underexplored, especially over time. Guided by the transactional model of stress and coping, this study aimed to examine a longitudinal model linking growth mindset to later health risk behaviors via core self-evaluation and coping style. Methods A three-wave longitudinal study was conducted using cluster sampling to recruit middle school students in eastern China. Assessments occurred at three-month intervals: growth mindset was measured at Time 1 (T1), core self-evaluation and coping style at Time 2 (T2), and health risk behaviors at Time 3 (T3). In total, 534 students ( M _age = 12.40, 50.2% male) completed all three waves. Results Findings indicated that growth mindset at T1 negatively predicted health risk behaviors at T3. Core self-evaluation and positive coping style at T2 independently mediated this relationship and also operated sequentially as a chain mediation pathway, highlighting the longitudinal mechanism linking cognitive beliefs to behavioral outcomes. Conclusion Growth mindset functions as a protective cognitive factor against adolescents’ health risk behaviors by fostering positive self-evaluation and adaptive coping strategies. These findings extend cognitive-behavioral accounts of health risk behaviors and support multicomponent interventions targeting adolescents’ mindsets, core self-evaluation, and coping skills.