A longitudinal study of Pekrun’s control-value theory and the internal/external frame of reference model in predicting academic anxiety

Abstract

The present two-wave longitudinal study examined 836 Chinese secondary school students over the course of an academic year to investigate the individual antecedents of academic anxiety in multiple subjects. Hypotheses were based on Pekrun’s control-value theory of achievement emotions and Marsh’s internal/external frame of reference model and tested utilising longitudinal data. Students’ academic self-concept, interest, and anxiety were assessed in Chinese, Mathematics, and English. The results of structural equation modelling indicated that in line with the control-value theory and internal/external frame of reference model, academic self-concept and interest had a negative within-domain effect on anxiety but a positive cross-domain effect on anxiety. Despite stereotypic differences in mean levels, the relations between constructs were gender-invariant. We discuss the theoretical and empirical contributions of the study and make suggestions for future research.