Personal and family growth initiative as predictors of study engagement in Chinese and American college students: Is there any evidence for group differences?

• Examined personal and family growth initiative between Chinese and Americans students
• Personal growth initiative was found to be stronger in Americans, compared to Chinese.
• Family growth initiative was found to be stronger in Chinese, compared to Americans.
• Personal growth initiative predicted study engagement in both Chinese and Americans.
• Family growth initiative significantly augmented the prediction model for Chinese, but not for Americans.

The present study examined the relationship between personal growth initiative (PGI), family growth initiative (FGI), and study engagement in a sample of 379 Chinese and 351 American college students. Consistent with expectations, PGI was found to predict different facets of study engagement in both cultural groups. When FGI was included, a consistent difference between Chinese and American students emerged. Specifically, FGI was found to account for additional amounts of variance in study engagement in Chinese students, but not in American students. Overall, our findings support the cross-cultural relevance of PGI in predicting studying engagement across college students from the East and West, and also point to the value of considering additional sources of growth for students that come from cultures that traditionally place a strong focus on the group.