Causal Modeling of the Role of Family Functioning in Predicting Corona Anxiety Mediated by Academic Procrastination in High School Students

Coronavirus is a serious threat to the well-being of families and their children due to challenges related to social disorders (e.g., financial problems, care burdens, and stress caused by quarantine).

This study aimed to investigate the causal modeling of the role of family functioning in predicting Corona anxiety mediated by academic procrastination in high school students.

This descriptive-correlation research is of structural equation types. The statistical population of the study included all high school students in Ardabil, Iran, in 2021. A total of 250 of these individuals were selected by the available sampling method from the above-said population and participated in the study. The family functioning questionnaire, academic procrastination, and Corona anxiety questionnaire were used to collect data. To analyze the collected data, Pearson correlation coefficient tests and structural equation modeling were measured with the help of SPSS (version 25) and Lisrel (version 8.8) software.

The correlation coefficient results showed that Corona anxiety has a negative relationship with family functioning and a positive and significant relationship with academic procrastination and academic procrastination has a negative and significant relationship with family functioning (P<0.001). Model fit indices also confirmed family functioning on Corona anxiety mediated by academic procrastination.

Considering the role of family functioning and academic procrastination in predicting Corona anxiety, counselors and psychologists are advised to hold social skills and problem-solving workshops for families and teach students learning strategies during the Coronavirus pandemic.