The mediating role of the possible selves in the relationship between time perspective and students' test anxiety

This study aimed to determine the mediating role of the possible selves in the relationship between time perspective and students' test anxiety. The research method was descriptive structural equation modeling and the statistical population of the present study included all high school students in Tehran who were studying in the academic year of 2019-2020, among them, 255 students were selected by convenience sampling method. Research tools include the Test Anxiety Scale by Sarason et al. (1958); the Possible Selves’ Questionnaire by Zadshir et al. (2020) and the Time Perspective Inventory by Zimbardo and Boyd (1999). Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. In the present study, the indirect path coefficient between future (p<0.01, β=-0.176), hedonistic present (p<0.01, β=-0.179), and positive past (p<0.01, β=-0.076) time perspectives with test anxiety were negative, and significant at the level of 0.01. The indirect path coefficient between negative past perspective with test anxiety (p<0.01, β=0.053) was positive and significant at the level of 0.01. It seems that the time perspective causes a person to plan for his long-term goals, this planning increases hopeful thinking, having enough and effective coping resources for purposeful thinking and familiarity with the necessary paths to meet the goals, which ultimately causes the student not to experience test anxiety.