Antecedents and consequences of student academic worries about the secondary school transition

Abstract

This longitudinal study examined the possible antecedents and consequences of academic worries about the secondary school transition. It had two main goals. The first goal was to examine bidirectional links between student academic worries and their academic amotivation and test anxiety during the last two years of primary school (Grades 5 and 6). The second aim was to investigate the contribution of these factors to student school functioning after the transition. A sample of 341 students (49 % boys; Mage = 10.78) and one of their parents took part in the study. Results of structural equation modeling revealed that test anxiety positively predicted academic worries; academic worries positively predicted amotivation in Grade 6; academic worries and amotivation negatively predicted achievement and positively predicted academic maladjustment in secondary school; and test anxiety positively predicted academic maladjustment in secondary school. Implications for school-based interventions are discussed.