Emotional intelligence moderates perfectionism and test anxiety among Iranian students

Abstract

Test anxiety is one of the common forms of anxiety for students. Thus, it is necessary to improve our knowledge regarding the etiology of test anxiety. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between perfectionism, emotional intelligence, and test anxiety among Iranian students. This study also was conducted to test emotional intelligence as a possible moderator between perfectionism and test anxiety. The participants were 520 students from eight high schools in Tehran, Iran. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) revealed that adaptive perfectionism and emotional intelligence were negatively associated with test anxiety, while maladaptive perfectionism was positively associated with test anxiety. Emotional intelligence moderated the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and test anxiety. These findings highlight the importance of studying moderating processes that explain how perfectionism effects test anxiety.