Fear of Failure, Academic Stress and Psychological Well-being among NEET and JEE Aspirants: The Protective Role of Psychological Resilience and Perceived Social Support

Abstract

The intensifying competition surrounding India’s two most consequential higher-secondary entrance examinations the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) has turned adolescence for millions of aspirants into a period of sustained psychological strain. Building on recent Indian evidence linking parental expectations, academic stress and adverse mental-health outcomes among NEET and JEE aspirants, this paper develops a testable psychological model in which competitive-exam pressure predicts fear of failure, which in turn predicts academic stress, which subsequently predicts diminished psychological well-being. Departing from deficit-only accounts of exam-related distress, the model specifies psychological resilience and perceived social support as protective resources that buffer the stress–well-being pathway and the fear-of-failure–stress pathway, respectively. Drawing on fifteen recent empirical and theoretical sources (2025–2026) spanning fear-of-failure research, NEET/JEE-specific mental-health studies, and the broader resilience and social-support literature, the paper articulates six hypotheses, proposes a cross-sectional moderated-mediation design for a sample of 300–500 Class XI/XII aspirants stratified by exam type (NEET vs. JEE), gender, school type (government vs. private) and coaching status, and specifies validated instruments together with an analytic plan using confirmatory factor analysis and conditional-process (PROCESS) modelling. The paper closes by discussing theoretical, practical and policy implications for schools, coaching institutes and families, and identifies an interdisciplinary extension an explainable, machine-learning-based early-warning framework using psychosocial, sleep and study-behaviour indicators as a promising direction for future research on this understudied higher-secondary population.

Introduction

The text presents a proposed psychological research model for understanding mental-health risks among NEET and JEE aspirants in India. It argues that intense competitive-exam pressure can trigger a chain of psychological difficulties, but that social support and psychological resilience may protect students from its negative effects.

1. Background and problem

NEET and JEE are highly competitive entrance examinations, with millions of students appearing each year. Preparation often begins in early adolescence and involves long study hours, school commitments, coaching, parental expectations and fear of failure. The literature reviewed links this environment to:

• High academic stress and anxiety.
• Fear of failure and worry about future performance.
• Poor psychological well-being.
• Increased vulnerability among students facing repeated attempts, intensive coaching or unsupportive family environments.
• In severe cases, self-harm and suicide, particularly around examination results and in coaching hubs.

The text identifies a research gap: previous studies have documented stress but have not adequately explained the psychological process through which exam pressure becomes academic stress and reduced well-being.

2. Central psychological model

The study proposes the following pathway:

Competitive-exam pressure → Fear of failure → Academic stress → Reduced psychological well-being

The model adds two protective factors:

• Perceived social support — expected to reduce the effect of fear of failure on academic stress.
• Psychological resilience — expected to reduce the negative effect of academic stress on psychological well-being.

Thus, the proposed model is a first-stage and second-stage moderated-mediation model, conceptually similar to Hayes PROCESS Model 21.

3. Role of the major variables

• Competitive-exam pressure: External academic and competitive demands experienced by NEET/JEE aspirants.
• Fear of failure: The perception that failure threatens self-worth, family expectations or social standing.
• Academic stress: Stress arising from workload, grades, expectations, competition and uncertainty about the future.
• Psychological well-being: Positive functioning, emotional balance, purpose and overall psychological health.
• Psychological resilience: The ability to adapt and recover when facing stress or adversity.
• Perceived social support: The belief that family, friends and significant others care about, value and support the student.

4. Literature review findings

The reviewed literature consistently shows that NEET/JEE students experience significant academic stress. Coaching intensity, repeated attempts and critical home environments can increase stress, while emotional support and open communication can reduce it.

Research from other student populations also suggests that:

• Social support can strengthen resilience and improve well-being.
• Resilience can protect students from psychological distress.
• Academic stress is generally associated with poorer well-being.
• Fear of failure contributes to avoidance, academic strain and heightened perceptions of pressure.

However, these findings have rarely been combined into a single model specifically tested among NEET/JEE aspirants.

5. Research hypotheses

The study proposes six major hypotheses:

1. Fear of failure will increase academic stress.
2. Academic stress will reduce psychological well-being.
3. Academic stress will mediate the relationship between fear of failure and psychological well-being.
4. Perceived social support will weaken the relationship between fear of failure and academic stress.
5. Psychological resilience will weaken the negative relationship between academic stress and well-being.
6. Fear of failure, academic stress and well-being will differ according to NEET vs. JEE, gender, school type and coaching status.

6. Proposed methodology

The research will use a cross-sectional, correlational survey design with approximately 300–500 Class XI and XII NEET/JEE aspirants.

Participants are proposed to be selected using stratified purposive sampling from:

• Government and private schools.
• Coaching institutes.
• Coaching and non-coaching students.
• Urban and semi-urban areas.

The study proposes using validated psychological scales to measure fear of failure, academic stress and psychological well-being, along with measures of resilience and perceived social support.

Statistical analysis will use conditional-process/moderated-mediation analysis to test the proposed relationships and subgroup differences.

7. Overall significance

The key contribution of the study is its shift from simply asking “Are NEET/JEE students stressed?” to asking “How does exam pressure produce stress, and what protects students from its effects?”

The proposed model suggests that fear of failure is the psychological mechanism connecting competitive pressure to academic stress, while social support and resilience act as protective buffers.

If empirically validated, the findings could help schools, coaching institutes and families develop interventions focused on:

• Building psychological resilience.
• Strengthening family and peer support.
• Reducing unhealthy fear of failure.
• Providing accessible counselling.
• Identifying high-risk students earlier.

Conclusion

This paper has proposed and theoretically developed a testable psychological model competitive-exam pressure predicting fear of failure, fear of failure predicting academic stress, and academic stress predicting psychological well-being with psychological resilience and perceived social support specified as protective, buffering resources operating at distinct points in this pathway, among NEET and JEE aspirants. Grounded in fifteen recent (predominantly 2025–2026) empirical and psychometric sources spanning NEET/JEE-specific mental-health research, fear-of-failure measurement, and the broader resilience and social-support literature, the model addresses a clear gap: no existing study has integrated a mediating fear-of-failure mechanism with a dual-moderator protective-factor framework specifically within this high-stakes, understudied population. A rigorously specified mixed-comparison survey design, involving 300–500 Class XI/XII aspirants stratified by exam type, gender, school type and coaching status, together with validated instrumentation and a conditional-process analytic plan, is proposed as the next empirical step. Should the model receive support, it would offer both a theoretical advance clarifying the psychological mechanism linking competitive pressure to well-being and a practical one, providing schools, coaching institutes, and families with a sequenced, evidence-based basis for supporting NEET and JEE aspirants: strengthening relational and social support early in the preparation cycle, and building psychological resilience as pressure intensifies. Given the scale of the population affected and the severity of documented outcomes in this literature, continued empirical and interdisciplinary attention to the psychological well-being of NEET and JEE aspirants remains a pressing priority for Indian psychological science.

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Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Santhiya R, Vidu Shri R L, Balamanthara. K. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.