Anxiety, fear of failure, and achievement: Two path-analytical models

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Abstract
Despite remarkable progress in the elaboration and assessment of test anxiety, the mechanism of the anxiety-performance relationship remains obscure. Most studies conducted in school settings were correlational, thus demonstrating associations rather than true dependencies. By integrating research on test anxiety and achievement motivation, a mutual influence of anxiety and performance is postulated. Written test performance, test anxiety, and fear of failure were assessed amongst a group of 91 (7th grade) grammar school pupils and 134 (equivalent graded) comprehensive school pupils. Fear of failure consisted of self-evaluation, self-concept, level of aspiration, and attributions. The causal models reveal that attributions, self-evalutation, and self-concept exhibit a mediating role between performance and test anxiety, and fear of failure constitutes a feedback loop from academic achievement to anxiety. The results support the conception of the anxiety-achievement relationship as an interdependent system.