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Class Anxiety in Secondary Education: Exploring Structural Relations with Perceived Control, Engagement, Disaffection, and Performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 September 2015

Antonio González ,
José María Faílde Garrido ,
Yolanda Rodríguez Castro  and
María Victoria Carrera Rodríguez
Antonio González*
Affiliation:
Universidade de Vigo (Spain)
José María Faílde Garrido
Affiliation:
Universidade de Vigo (Spain)
Yolanda Rodríguez Castro
Affiliation:
Universidade de Vigo (Spain)
María Victoria Carrera Rodríguez
Affiliation:
Universidade de Vigo (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Antonio González. Universidad de Vigo. Facultad C.C. de la Educación. Ourense (Spain). E-mail: aglez@uvigo.es
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Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the relationships between class-related anxiety with perceived control, teacher-reported behavioral engagement, behavioral disaffection, and academic performance. Participants were 355 compulsory secondary students (9th and 10th grades; Mean age = 15.2 years; SD = 1.8 years). Structural equation models revealed performance was predicted by perceived control, anxiety, disaffection, and engagement. Perceived control predicted anxiety, disaffection, and engagement. Anxiety predicted disaffection and engagement, and partially mediated the effects from control on disaffection (β = –.277, p < .005; CI = –.378, –.197) and engagement (β = .170, p < .002; CI = .103 .258). The negative association between anxiety and performance was mediated by engagement and disaffection (β = –.295, p < .002; CI = –.439, –.182). Anxiety, engagement, and disaffection mediated the effects of control on performance (β = .352, p < .003; CI = .279, .440). The implications of these results are discussed in the light of current theory and educational interventions.

Keywords

class anxietyperceived controlbehavioral engagementbehavioral disaffectionstructural equation modeling
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 18 , 2015 , E68
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2015 

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