The purpose of this study is to identify how self-esteem of middle school students for mental care influences their academic achievement and to verify the mediation effect of GRIT on academic enthusiasm. Data of 2590 first graders in middle school from the Kora Children and Youth Panel Survey 2019 was used to support this study. Data analysis was performed by using SPSS21.0, AMOS22.0, and PROCESS macro program. The results are as follows. Comparison of the model fits of each full mediation model and partial mediation model with χ2 showed that the full mediation model was more suitable for this study. In more detail, the influence of self-esteem on GRIT and the influence of GRIT on academic enthusiasm were significantly positive. Lastly, the study identified that there was a mediation effect between self-esteem and academic achievement through GRIT and academic enthusiasm. It indicates that self-esteem is the key to improve academic achievement and that specific programs should be supplemented in order to enhance self-esteem, GRIT, and academic enthusiasm.
Keywords: GRIT; academic achievement; academic enthusiasm; mental care; middle school students; self-esteem.