Predicting longitudinal trajectories of academic passion in first-year university students

•This study examined stability and change over 1 year in students' academic passion.•Students followed distinct trajectories of passion quantity and quality.•Trajectories of passion were predicted by initial perceptions of university life.

This study examined whether or not academic passion changes over the course of an academic year, and determined if membership in specific passion trajectories could be predicted by initial perceptions of university life. First-year university students (N = 457) completed online assessments of passion quantity and quality (harmonious and obsessive passion) at three time-points throughout the academic year. Using latent class growth modeling, we found that academic passion, both quantity and quality, changed very little for most students, changed a modest amount for some students, and changed dramatically for a small group of students. Also, initial levels of activity internalization, perceived opportunities for self-expansion, boredom, expectation violations, perceived pressure, and autonomy predicted membership in specific passion trajectories. These results indicate that academic passion changes for some students during the first year of university, and that initial perceptions of university life can predict the course that passion will take over time.