Structural Relationships of Psychological Capitalism and Self-Determination with Test Anxiety: The Mediating role was Academic Engagement and Hardiness

This study aimed to investigate the structural relationships of psychological capital and self-determination with test anxiety: the mediating role was academic engagement and hardiness.

The research design was correlational. The statistical population was all high school students in Semnan city in 2018-2019. The research samples were 857. Data collection tools included Ahvaz Test Anxiety Inventory, Luthans et all Psychological Capital Questionnaire, Deci Ryan Self-Determination Inventory, Fredericks et all Academic Engagement Scale, and Kobasa Hardiness Questionnaire. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS and LISREL software and structural equation modeling.

The latent variables of psychological capital and self-determination, academic engagement and hardiness had markers. The findings of the measurement model showed that all marker variables were significantly loaded on their latent structure. The results of the structural model also showed that the variables of psychological capital, self-determination, hardiness and academic engagement have negative, direct and significant effects on test anxiety. Also, psychological capital and self-determination have negative, indirect and significant negative and significant effects on test anxiety with mediating of academic involvement and hardiness. This model, overall, predicted the variance of test anxiety as 0.49.

The role of predictor variables can be used to control and the reduce test anxiety according to the obtained results.