Social Sciences

Abstract: Objectively identical outcomes can carry different subjective value depending on the relational context in which they occur. Across three studies, we examined how rivalry shapes the perceived value and subsequent consequences of winning and losing in professional football. Studies 1a and 1b showed that prestigious rivalries were judged more meaningful than regular matches and were assigned a subjective value of approximately four points. Participants also expected a prestigious victory to improve performance in the following match, and a prestigious defeat to impair it. Study 2 tested these beliefs using preregistered archival analyses of 39,148 matches played over 26 seasons in Europe’s five major football leagues. Contrary to the anticipated positive momentum, teams were less likely to win their next match after a prestigious victory than after a regular victory, and less likely to win after a prestigious victory than after a prestigious defeat. The effect was confined to the next match and was not explained by home–away patterns; prestigious defeats did not differ reliably from regular defeats. Thus, rivalry creates a subjective premium, followed by a short-lived performance cost for the winner, which may result from complacency, concentrated effort in the focal contest, or increased attention for losses.

Abstract: Family cultural capital includes household educational resources, parental qualifications, and everyday family practices that may be relevant to students’ science learning. Using PISA 2025 data, we examined how these dimensions predicted science achievement among 12,258 students in China (B-S-J-Z: Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang) and 2,291 U.S. questionnaire respondents. We used the same twelve family cultural-capital and science-participation indicators in both samples and evaluated two predictive models—ridge regression and XGBoost—through school-grouped cross-validation and ten science plausible values. The full XGBoost models achieved held-out R2 values of .361 in China (B-S-J-Z) and .327 in the U.S. sample. Perceived parental educational expectations and books at home ranked first and second among the focal indicators in both settings. The additional predictive information associated with perceived expectations was greater in the China (B-S-J-Z) model, whereas family conversations and science-related participation added relatively more information to the U.S. model. Parental qualifications were also more prominent in the China (B-S-J-Z) results. Together, the findings identify both shared cultural-capital patterns and different profiles of family educational resources and practices across the two educational settings.

Abstract: Cybercrime-related attitudes among university students may reflect the interplay of personal morality, civic attachment, and social influence. This study examined the relationships among moral values, patriotism, peer pressure, and resistance to cybercrime-related attitudes among undergraduates in South-West Nigeria. A cross-sectional correlational design was adopted, and data were obtained from 347 undergraduates in tertiary institutions across Lagos, Ogun, and Oyo States using a multistage sampling procedure. The study examined the direct relationships among the variables, the indirect roles of patriotism and peer pressure, and the moderating role of gender. Moral values and patriotism were associated with greater resistance to cybercrime-related attitudes, whereas peer pressure was associated with lower resistance. Patriotism did not mediate the relationship between moral values and resistance, whereas peer pressure showed a significant indirect effect. Gender did not moderate the relationship between moral values and resistance. The findings indicate that resistance to cybercrime-related attitudes involves distinct but intersecting moral, civic, and interpersonal processes. The study contributes to cyberpsychological research by examining civic attachment alongside moral values and peer influence in understanding cybercrime-related attitudes among Nigerian undergraduates. The findings further suggest that university-based cybercrime prevention should combine moral and digital citizenship education with peer-norm interventions that challenge the social normalisation of cybercrime.

Abstract: Renewable energy sources are central to decarbonization, and social support for their expansion is linked to how citizens understand and evaluate the energy transition. This study examines attitudes towards Renewable Energy Sources (RES) among 408 Generation Z respondents in Italy, Lithuania, Morocco and Poland, providing the possibility to compare different energy contexts, while using a common questionnaire on the same attitudinal dimensions across samples. Country-specific OLS regressions with forward variable selection were used to analyse associations between attitudes towards RES and a set of cognitive, evaluative and behavioural measures. Climate-change importance is the only correlate appearing in all four final models, while the other selected correlates differ across countries. The results therefore point to a common climate-related association within otherwise country-specific patterns in Generation Z attitudes towards renewable energy. By applying a common questionnaire and the same modelling strategy to four Generation Z samples, the study provides a structured comparison of RES attitudes across contrasting national energy contexts. This design makes it possible to examine which associations recur across the four samples and which appear only in particular specifications.

Abstract: Combat sports require measurement systems that tolerate contact and protective equipment. Following JBI and PRISMA-ScR guidance, this scoping review mapped how wearable, marker-less, and equipment-embedded sensors have been used to quantify load, physiological response, and technique in boxing, judo, wrestling, taekwondo, and fencing, and what measurement-property evidence accompanies their outputs. PubMed and IEEE Xplore (2015–2026) were searched and supplemented by citation searching; a second reviewer screened a random 20% sample (κ = 0.75). We included 222 reports, 39 of them charted from abstracts, which most often used physiological wearables, followed by inertial and equipment-embedded sensors. Only 44 reports (20%) presented strong evidence for the analysed output (criterion agreement, between-day reliability, verified event detection or testing on unseen athletes), and 28 (13%) weak evidence only. Of 38 machine-learning evaluations, 12 tested athletes not used for training. Four reports (three in boxing) paired head-impact exposure with an acute health endpoint and 11 recorded mechanical surrogates only; none linked sensor exposure to subsequent injury. We propose a 14-item reporting checklist adapted from existing guidance.

Abstract: This study examined the role of emotional intelligence and self-esteem in the context of the athletic development of young soccer players aged 10 to 12 years, using standardized and validated psychological instruments. Emotional intelligence was assessed using the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory: Youth Version (EQ-i:YV), and self-esteem was measured with the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory – School Form (CSEI-S). Motor performance was used as a functional indicator of the level of sports preparation and was assessed using the 10-m sprint, Zig-Zag dribbling test, and T-test for agility. Between-group analyses indicated more favourable emotional-intelligence and self-esteem profiles and greater improvements in selected motor-performance measures among players in the Montessori-informed training environment. Given the quasi-experimental design and small sample, these findings should be interpreted as associations rather than evidence of causal effects and highlight the potential relevance of psychological assessment in youth sport and support the consideration of psychological dimensions alongside physical and technical components of training.

Abstract: Good sleep is essential for health, yet sleep is often overlooked due to academic, occupational, and social demands. This study investigates whether attending a pre-existing university course about sleep can improve students’ beliefs and attitudes about sleep, subjective sleep quality, and pre-sleep arousal. Methods: Seventy-five volunteer students (40 F, age = 21.5±3.78) completed the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep (DBAS), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale (PSAS) before attending a 3-month pre-existing course in Sleep Psychology (N = 50, 22 F, age = 21.5±2.40, S group) or in History of Psychology (N = 25, 18 F, age = 21.5±1.83, H group). At the end of each course, the same three questionnaires were administered. Results: Our results showed that, at the post-test, the S group improved sleep quality, reduced sleep disturbances, decreased cognitive pre-sleep arousal, and reduced dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep. Conclusions: These data suggest that attending a sleep course improves subjective sleep quality and pre-sleep arousal by reducing dysfunctional beliefs. These findings underscore the potential benefits of integrating sleep education into university curricula and reinforce the importance of addressing sleep as a key component of students’ health and well-being.

Abstract: The present study investigated the potential mediating effects of the Big Five personality traits between emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) and conflict management styles. Statistical analyses were conducted on a sample of emerging adults (N = 373; 18–23 years) using the Jamovi software package. Multiple linear regression and mediation analyses showed that cognitive reappraisal and expression suppression did not significantly pre-dict conflict management styles (p>.05). Moreover, the indirect effects of big five personality traits were not statistically significant, all bootstrap confidence intervals crossed zero. Thus, the null hypotheses were accepted. Nevertheless, it is axiomatic that defining the boundary conditions of socio-emotional competencies is crucial to advance this field of study. The non-significant findings suggested that internal self-regulation processes and external conflict tactics may operate through separate psychological pathways during emerging adulthood, a developmental period marked by systemic changes and continued neurological development. Essentially, these findings clarified the distinct empirical landscape of this demographic that suggested important clinical utility, not a conceptual failure. In conclusion, the present study contributed important parameters to the ex-isting body of knowledge, showing that tactical conflict modes in youth may be determined by immediate situational variables and may not be structurally mediated by stable dispositional traits.

Abstract: Background: Learning often occurs under instruction. In the neuromotor domain, this entails moving with intent to accomplish the instructed goal, repeatedly, building an expectation and predicting future events. In autism, however, neuromotor development is delayed and their sense of kinesthetic reafference affected by random noise in the returning motor stream. This impedes fluid, moment-to-moment predictive control, creating a gap between mental intent and physical volition. However, our lab discovered that uninstructed, goal-less spontaneous movements, typically embedded in purposeful actions, are spared and plastic across the autism spectrum. How can we leverage these motions’ unintended consequences, to help autistics self-discover a goal and fluidly complete actions on their own volition? Methods: We built a closed-loop interactive assay: the Torres Agentic Learning (TAL) task. In this task, without instructions, 33 children had to self-discover the goal and complete the action of watching movies under their own volitional control. We continuously recorded their hand motions as they caused media to play, first through naïve wondering and spontaneous unintended consequences from surprising events and then, learning through deliberate error-correction relative to the self-discovered goal. Results: All participants learned through the TAL paradigm. They self-discovered the goal and gained prediction of their motor code, lowering the entropy and enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio of their hand speed temporal streams. Conclusions: Uninstructed goal-less agentic learning mediated by spontaneous motions and surprises is feasible in both autistics and typically developing children. This work offers both an assay and biometrics to track the effectiveness of the agentic learning progression.

Abstract: Gambling-related harm reflects more than how often people gamble; age and personality may shape the psychological processes that distinguish participation from problematic involvement. This cross-sectional study examined associations among age, Big Five and Dark Triad traits, impulsivity, sensation seeking, gambling behavior, problem gambling severity, gambling satisfaction, and sports fanship among English speaking adults recruited through Prolific. Younger age predicted greater problem gambling severity, but was not associated with preferred betting medium. Personality significantly predicted impulsivity and sensation seeking: conscientiousness predicted lower impulsivity, while openness showed a positive trend with sensation seeking. Among participants who gambled, narcissism positively predicted problem gambling severity. Exploratory indirect-effect analyses identified significant indirect associations from conscientiousness to problem gambling through impulsivity and from age to problem gambling through narcissism. These findings distinguish gambling participation from gambling-related harm and identify self-regulation and narcissistic risk tendencies as potential areas for future health communication research; research and practice should consider targeted and tailored gambling intervention messages in light of this research.

Abstract: Learner wellbeing in schools depends on practitioners presumed competence of protecting it, yet little is known about how those practitioners appraise their own capacity. This qualitative exploratory study examined the perceptions of registered practitioners regarding their competence in assisting gay learners facing suicidal ideation in South African schools, and the rationale behind these judgements. A total of eleven practitioners from three provinces participated in online semi-structured interviews, with seven additionally taking part in a focus group. Data were analysed by reflexive theme analysis, guided by self-efficacy and minority stress theory. Out of eleven, ten reported no specific preparedness for sexual minority learners, with four answering in a single word. Appraisals nonetheless diverged sharply, and the divergence did not track training, which was uniformly negligible. Those who assess themselves as sufficiently prepared grounded their appraisals in registration and general education rather than experiential mastery; one also asserted that suicidal ideation are uniform across all learners. Colleagues reached a contrasting conclusion by regarding competence as a definable entity whose absence could be identified. We term the first pattern presumed competence: an efficacy appraisal warranted by institutional position in the acknowledged absence of relevant enactive experience. Making such competence a required rather than elective component of continuing professional development would align the warrant with what it certifies.

Abstract: Evidence is mixed regarding when people rely on artificial intelligence (AI) rather than human advice, and advice-taking from AI remains uncharacterized in crisis-related decision scenarios. Across two preregistered studies, we used the judge-advisor system and Weight of Advice to examine how decision context, advisor presentation, and advice framing shape advice taking. In Study 1, participants made decisions in ordinary scenarios and crisis scenarios. Advice-taking was higher in crisis scenarios than in ordinary scenarios, and AI advice received greater uptake than human advice in the crisis condition. In Study 2, which focused on crisis scenarios, advisor type (human, anthropomorphic AI, non-anthropomorphic AI) and advice framing (avoidance-oriented vs. approach-oriented) were varied between participants. Results revealed a crossover interaction: avoidance-oriented advice received greater uptake from anthropomorphic AI than from non-anthropomorphic AI, whereas approach-oriented advice received greater uptake from non-anthropomorphic AI than from anthropomorphic AI. These findings suggest that AI advice-taking in crisis decision scenarios is shaped by both context and communication design. Anthropomorphism does not uniformly increase the persuasiveness of AI advice; instead, its effect depends on how the advice is framed.

Abstract: Background: University students are particularly vulnerable to emotional distress be-cause academic demands and developmental transitions may interact with broader societal challenges. This study examined emotional functioning in Spanish university students and explored the preliminary psychometric properties of two measures deri-ved from the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Methods: An explora-tory cross-sectional study was conducted with 913 university students in Spain using an online questionnaire distributed through non-probability snowball sampling bet-ween April and May 2023. The instrument was adapted from HADS items, reviewed by experts, pilot-tested, and administered using a seven-point Likert scale. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, and exploratory component analy-ses were performed separately for the anxiety- and depression-related dimensions. Results: Participants generally reported preserved positive emotional functioning, al-though moderate levels of tension, nervousness, and worry were observed. Women scored higher than men on several anxiety-related indicators. After reassignment of three semantically inconsistent items, internal consistency improved from α = .700 to α = .853 for anxiety and from α = .370 to α = .798 for depression. Both revised dimensions showed adequate sampling adequacy and predominantly unidimensional structures. Conclusions: The adapted HADS-derived measures demonstrated satisfactory preli-minary psychometric performance. However, because the original instrument was substantially modified and the study employed a non-probability sample, the scales should be considered exploratory research measures pending further validation.

Abstract: The post‑pandemic era has witnessed that office politics has become increasingly concealed and digitalized under remote‑work arrangements, imposing substantial impacts on employees’ psychological states and behavioral responses. Grounded in the cognitive appraisal theory of stress, this study constructs a moderated‑mediation model to explore how perceived office politics evokes work withdrawal behaviors among remote employees. Questionnaire data were collected from 412 remote employees, and hypotheses were tested via hierarchical regression and bootstrapping approaches. Results show that perceived office politics positively predicts emotional exhaustion and work‑withdrawal behaviors. Emotional exhaustion fully mediates the association between perceived office politics and work withdrawal. Furthermore, remote‑work frequency positively moderates the link between perceived office politics and emotional exhaustion, such that this relationship is stronger for employees engaging in high‑frequency remote work. Our findings indicate that, although digital work settings reduce face‑to‑face interpersonal conflicts, information asymmetry in distributed teams may amplify stress‑related psychological costs and trigger employees’ “invisible withdrawal”. This study offers empirical evidence for understanding the psychological consequences of transformed workplace politics in modern organizations and yields practical implications for organizational intervention in remote and hybrid contexts.

Abstract: Ghana’s e-waste sector — concentrated in urban hubs including Accra’s Agbogbloshie-Sodom complex, Kumasi’s Dagomba and Akwatia lines, and sites in Tamale and Sunyani — constitutes one of West Africa’s most significant mineral waste streams, generating annual economic value estimated at US $105–$268 million and sustaining livelihoods for over 200,000 people. Yet the governance and policy frameworks necessary to enable systematic, safe, and economically productive mineral waste valorisation remain fragmented, under-resourced, and disconnected from circular economy principles. This paper examines the governance architecture, social-ecological sustainability dynamics, and policy barriers shaping mineral waste valorisation in Ghana’s e-waste sector, drawing on original qualitative research involving 21 key informant interviews with stakeholders from government, civil society, development partners, private sector, and academia, complemented by policy document review and field observations across multiple sites. Applying an integrated Social-Ecological Systems (SES) framework and sociotechnical transitions theory, the study identifies three structural barriers to effective valorisation: institutional fragmentation and policy-implementation gaps; economic distortions including foreign market dominance and pricing asymmetries that undermine incentive systems; and inadequate land allocation and ecological governance, exacerbated by the demolition of the central Agbogbloshie scrapyard. Findings reveal that while emerging interventions — including incentive-based collection systems, Human Capacity Development programmes, and public-private infrastructure partnerships — demonstrate promising results, their impact remains limited due to weak vertical and horizontal integration across the value chain. The paper advances a governance reform agenda centred on informal sector inclusion, unified policy frameworks, sustainable financing mechanisms, and spatially anchored circular economy implementation as prerequisites for unlocking the full valorisation potential of Ghana’s mineral waste streams.

Abstract: Background: Childhood maltreatment, and childhood sexual abuse in particular, is a potent developmental risk factor for disrupted adult sexuality. Survivors show two divergent yet frequently co‑occurring outcomes: elevated sexual risk-taking and compulsive sexual behavior on one hand, and sexual avoidance and dysfunction on the other. These patterns arise from trauma‑organized alterations in sexual meaning, attachment, emotion regulation, dissociation, and stress‑reactivity. The manuscript highlights that survivors may simultaneously exhibit sexual preoccupation and sexual aversion, forming a state of sexual ambivalence. It also notes that sexual‑minority and gender‑diverse individuals experience compounded risk due to minority stress and sociocultural factors. Objectives: To synthesize four decades of empirical, theoretical, and cross‑cultural evidence explaining how childhood sexual abuse produces both hypersexuality and sexual avoidance; to identify central mediating mechanisms; to evaluate the methodological quality of the evidence base; and to outline implications for trauma‑informed, culturally responsive clinical practice. Methods: A narrative‑integrative review was conducted using peer‑reviewed literature from major scientific databases, supplemented by citation tracking. Priority was given to meta‑analyses, umbrella reviews, prospective cohort studies, and large cross‑national datasets. The review integrates traumagenic dynamics, attachment theory, sexual self‑schema models, neurobiological stress‑reactivity research, minority‑stress frameworks, and cross‑cultural findings. Evidence quality was appraised using established umbrella‑review grading criteria. Results: Childhood sexual abuse uniquely predicts early sexual initiation, multiple partners, transactional sex, revictimization, and other risk behaviors beyond the effects of other maltreatment types. It also increases the likelihood of adult sexual dysfunction, including low desire, arousal difficulties, orgasmic problems, sexual pain, and avoidance. Prospective studies show early emergence and persistence of sexual preoccupation, aversion, and ambivalence. Cluster‑analytic work identifies survivor subtypes combining high compulsivity and high avoidance. Neurobiological findings indicate stress‑system sensitization that can manifest as either hyperactivation or hypoactivation of sexual response. Minority stress, gender identity, and cultural context shape the severity and expression of sexual outcomes. Evidence quality for sexual outcomes is variable, with several associations supported by modest rather than high‑certainty evidence. Conclusions: Hypersexuality and sexual avoidance represent complementary expressions of a trauma‑organized sexual system shaped by dissociation, insecure attachment, emotion dysregulation, and altered stress physiology. These patterns often co‑occur within individuals and fluctuate with relational, cultural, and identity‑related contexts. A comprehensive understanding of this paradox requires integrating psychological, biological, and sociocultural mechanisms. Clinical Implications: Assessment should routinely evaluate both compulsive and avoidant sexual patterns, dissociation, minority stress, and attachment insecurity. Trauma‑informed treatment should address emotion regulation, relational functioning, and sexual concerns within culturally responsive frameworks. Standardized measurement of sexual outcomes is essential for improving evidence quality and guiding intervention.

Abstract: This paper critically examines prevailing conceptualizations of financial well-being and financial resilience, arguing that dominant economic and psychological approaches tend to individualize and depoliticize financial vulnerability. By conceptualizing financial fragility primarily as a consequence of deficient financial literacy, financial behavior, or psychological characteristics, these approaches risk overlooking the structural conditions that shape the economic realities of low-income populations. The analysis identifies an inherent resilience paradox: social capital, commonly conceptualized as a protective resource, may become counterproductive under conditions of persistent poverty and social homophily. Strong bonding networks can provide essential support while simultaneously reinforcing resource scarcity, solidarity obligations, and barriers to individual accumulation. The paper further examines the role of comprehensive debt counseling and demonstrates that effective interventions must account for substantial heterogeneity among financially vulnerable groups. Different forms of vulnerability, including neurodivergence, behavioral addictions, migration-related exclusion, and single parenthood, require differentiated intervention strategies. Debt counseling can provide psycho-social, legal, and institutional stabilization but cannot compensate for structural deficiencies in income, social protection, and resource distribution. The paper therefore conceptualizes financial resilience as a multilevel and political phenomenon rather than merely an individual coping capacity. Finally, it calls for culturally sensitive and cross-national research beyond WEIRD populations and emphasizes sustainable public funding for debt-advisory services as a prerequisite for effective financial protection.

Abstract: Background: As online healthcare is to support aging for reducing health cost and offer sustainable solutions, it is important to develop fundamental knowledge on what causes the usage intention for online healthcare among older persons. However, information about the technology-specific predictors of the willingness to use online healthcare remains scare. The goal of this study is to better observe whether technology-based factors are associated with the intention of using online healthcare. Methods: In the current study, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in 2023 in Chongqing city of Western China, and 403 urban older adults aged 60 and above were enrolled. Results: We found that technology-specific factors including perceived risk (B = -0.100, p < 0.001), perceived benefit (B = 0.209, p < 0.001), relative advantage (B = 0.261, p < 0.001) and compatibility (B = 0.274, p < 0.001) were significantly linked to the usage intention for online healthcare. Additionally, financial strain status of perceived difficult (B = -1.024, p = 0.019) was negatively related to the usage intention for online healthcare. Conclusions: The results of this study identify the four technology-specific factors including perceived risk, perceived benefit, relative advantage and compatibility that have a strong influence on the usage intention for online healthcare. This influence implies that the technology-based factors are the key elements affecting older individuals’ perceptions, values, needs, preferences, experience and lifestyles in response to digital health technology. In addition, the results of this paper confirm that the attributes of relative advantage, compatibility and perceived benefit could act as facilitator and perceived risk as a barrier to the usage intention for online healthcare. Findings also enrich the applicable case of the diffusion of innovations theory and the benefit-risk analysis model in understanding the usage intention for online healthcare. Moreover, these findings and their implications here could provide specific evidence that the reinforcement of the usage intention for online healthcare in everyday life depends on technology-based factors in the Chinese context. The theoretical mechanisms underlying the link between the usage intention and technology-specific factors can also aid in developing and implementing sustainable technology-based solutions for online healthcare among older adults.

Abstract: Background/Objectives: Social media is an important source of nutrition and wellbeing information for young women, but can amplify misinformation, appearance ideals, and difficult-to-apply health advice. The Daily Health Coach (DHC) is a 12-week Instagram-based programme, originally co-designed and tested in New Zealand, delivering evidence-based, weight-neutral content on nutrition, movement, body image, and wellbeing. This study examined the acceptability of DHC New Zealand content for young Australian women and identified refinements to improve relevance, engagement, and safety. Methods: Using the CODES framework, we conducted three adaptation phases: user acceptance testing, co-design workshops, and early beta testing. An online survey was completed by 409 young women aged 18–24 years, with 338 completing all 12 weeks of review. Participants rated 84 Instagram-style posts for understanding, usefulness, and age appropriateness and provided open-ended feedback. Twelve young women participated in co-design workshops, and seven adapted artefacts were beta-tested with eight target users using cognitive walkthrough and think-aloud methods. Results: Combined understanding and usefulness scores ranged from 7.64 to 8.10/10, with all posts meeting the prespecified acceptability threshold of ≥7.5. Understanding scores exceeded usefulness scores, indicating content was clear but not always personally relevant or actionable. Feedback identified six refinement areas: content features, engagement strategies, content clarity, educational accuracy, relevance, and miscellaneous concerns. Co-design and beta testing generated four adaptation priorities: tone, design, engagement, and understanding. Conclusions: The DHC was acceptable for young Australian women, but required targeted refinement to optimise relevance, engagement, and safety. These guidelines will inform final content adaptation and future effectiveness evaluation.

Abstract: Unplanned pregnancy can disrupt higher education, yet less is known about how college women of color navigate educational pathways following pregnancy-related disruption. This qualitative phenomenological study examined the academic consequences of unplanned pregnancy and the conditions shaping persistence, interruption, return, and completion. A focused reanalysis was conducted using interviews from a broader study of sexual and reproductive health. Eleven college women of color with experiences of unplanned pregnancy participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes characterized participants’ educational experiences: pregnancy as academic disruption; relational and academic support for persistence; nonlinear educational pathways involving delay, return, redirection, and completion; and educational decision-making under pregnancy pressure. Pregnancy affected education through withdrawal, reduced academic engagement, health and financial pressures, and competing responsibilities. Family members, partners, childcare networks, and faculty flexibility supported continuation and return. Importantly, temporary interruption or changes in educational direction did not necessarily indicate educational disengagement. Educational persistence following unplanned pregnancy may instead involve adaptation, interruption, reentry, and altered pathways toward completion. The findings suggest that higher education institutions may better support pregnant and parenting students through coordinated academic, financial, childcare, and reentry assistance that reduces reliance on individual circumstances and informal support networks.