Abstract: | ABSTRACTTo address limitations in conceptualizing and measuring encouragement, the authors developed the Academic Encouragement Scale (AES) to assess the experience of receiving challenge-focused encouragement (directed toward people facing difficult situations) and potential-focused encouragement (helping people realize a potential) within an academic context. Results from 714 college students supported a two-factor structure, corresponding to challenge-focused and potential-focused encouragement. Evidence for the reliability and construct validity of AES scores was provided. The two AES subscales uniquely and positively predicted hope and academic self-efficacy. Challenge-focused encouragement, but not potential-focused encouragement, uniquely and positively predicted campus connectedness. Campus connectedness, but not hope, mediated the relationship between challenge-focused encouragement and academic self-efficacy. In contrast, hope, but not campus connectedness, mediated the association between potential-focused encouragement and academic self-efficacy. Collectively, these findings underscore the distinction between challenge-focused and potential-focused encouragement, as well as the utility of the AES in providing a conceptually complex understanding of encouragement. |