The interplay of incivility, peer support, and psychological capital in higher education.

In the context of increasing incivility in university environments, especially in Asian countries such as Vietnam, this study was conducted to clarify the mechanism of incivility's influence on students' academic performance from the conservation of resources theory perspective. The study constructed a mediation-moderation model in which psychological distress and perceived peer support played mediating roles, and psychological capital was a moderator. Data were collected from 266 university students in Vietnam and analyzed using the PLS-SEM method. The results showed that incivility had a direct negative impact on academic performance, while this impact increased through psychological distress and was mitigated by the presence of perceived peer support. In addition, psychological capital played a moderating role in the relationship between incivility and psychological distress, suggesting a protective role for individual psychology in stressful situations. However, psychological capital did not moderate the relationship between perceived peer support and academic performance. The study contributes to COR theory in the context of higher education and suggests interventions to mitigate the negative effects of incivility and enhance student learning outcomes.