Writing self-efficacy, achievement emotions, and engagement among Chinese EFL learners: a variable- and person-centered investigation based on control-value theory.

Drawing on the Control-Value Theory (CVT), this study adopts a dual-analytical approach to investigate the interplay of writing self-efficacy, emotions (enjoyment, anxiety, boredom), and engagement among 1,879 Chinese EFL learners. The variable-centered analysis identified writing self-efficacy as a key correlate of both behavioral and cognitive engagement, showing significant direct associations with engagement as well as indirect associations through the differentiated mediating roles of the three emotions. Notably, boredom emerged as the emotional correlate of behavioral engagement, whereas all three emotions were associated with cognitive engagement, suggesting that the role of emotions in engagement may not be uniform across engagement dimensions. Complementing these findings, the person-centered analysis identified four distinct latent profiles ranging from High Efficacy and Enjoyment to Lowest Efficacy and High Distress, which differed systematically in engagement outcomes. While behavioral engagement was comparatively insensitive to differences in emotional intensity once self-efficacy was low, cognitive engagement showed a clearer hierarchical pattern across profiles. The identification of a subgroup exhibiting concurrent high anxiety and high boredom alongside severely diminished self-efficacy illustrated a level of emotional complexity that variable-centered analyses would be unlikely to capture. Synthesizing these findings, the study suggests the potential value of considering both general associative patterns and learner-specific heterogeneity in future research and instructional practice on L2 writing.