Parents’ expectation, self-expectation, and test anxiety among primary school students in China: a moderated mediation model

This study aimed to explore the influence of parents’ expectation on primary school students’ test anxiety, the mediating role of primary school students’ self-expectation and the moderating role of gender. 571 primary school students in Jinan City completed The Parents’ Expectation Scale, Test Anxiety Self-Report Scale, and Self-Expectation Questionnaire. The results showed that (1) there were significant correlations among parents’ expectation, test anxiety, self-expectation, respectively; (2) self-expectation played a mediating role in the relationship between parents’ expectation and test anxiety; (3) gender moderated the first half of the mediation process. This study revealed the influence mechanism of parents’ expectation and self-expectations on test anxiety, which provided new ideas for preventing and intervening in primary school students’ test anxiety.