Abstract
Introduction: Guided by a core mediation model (environment → cognitive appraisals → emotions → life satisfaction), this study explores the multiple structural associations among classroom goal climate, perceived parental academic expectations and support (PPASS), cognitive appraisals, academic emotions, and life satisfaction across different cultural contexts. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1,645 university students from China and Kazakhstan. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) was utilized to verify the measurement invariance of the instruments, and multi-group structural equation modeling (MG-SEM) was employed to analyze the structural associations across the two groups. Results: After confirming strong measurement invariance across both groups, the MG-SEM revealed that mastery climate was significantly and positively associated with perceived control and task value. Perceived control covaried positively with positive emotions. The path from task value to positive emotions was not significant in either sample, while task value and negative emotions were significantly and negatively associated in both samples. Parental expectations and support were positively associated with task value, and indirectly linked to lower negative emotions via the task value pathway. Notably, the negative covariation between perceived control and negative emotions was significant only in the Kazakhstani sample. Furthermore, positive and negative emotions were significantly positively and negatively associated with life satisfaction, respectively. Discussion: These findings theoretically elucidate the cross-cultural psychological mechanisms of educational ecologies, suggesting that higher education interventions should foster mastery-oriented environments and autonomy-supportive family involvement to facilitate students' psychological adaptation.