Journal of Cognitive Strategies in Learning

Journal of Cognitive Strategies in Learning

The Relationship Between Perfectionism and Teacher's Emotional Support with Math Self-Efficacy in Middle School Students: The Meditating Role of Math Anxiety

Document Type : Research Article

Authors
1 Faculty of Social Sciences, Razi University, Kermanshah
2 Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
3 دانشیار، گروه روانشناسی، دانشکده علوم اجتماعی، دانشگاه رازی، کرمانشاه، ایران
10.22084/j.psychogy.2026.31661.2839
Abstract
Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between perfectionism and teacher emotional support with mathematics self-efficacy mediated by mathematics anxiety in middle school students.

Methods: The method of this study was descriptive correlational structural equation modeling (SEM). The statistical population included male and female students studying in the middle school level in Kermanshah in the academic year 1402-1403. The study sample consisted of 261 students (126 girls and 135 boys) who were selected using cluster random sampling method. The instruments used in the present study were Middleton and Migli's Math Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (1997), Chiu and Henry's Math Anxiety Questionnaire (1990), Hewitt and Felt's Perfectionism Questionnaire (1991), and Sakis's Teacher Emotional Support Questionnaire (2007). Finally, the data obtained from the study were statistically analyzed using SPSS-24 and AMOS-24 software.

Results: The findings of the study showed that the proposed model of this study has a good fit in the studied sample. In addition, the results showed that teacher emotional support is related to math self-efficacy, and in this regard, the math anxiety variable plays a significant mediating role, and perfectionism also has a significant relationship with math self-efficacy through the mediation of math anxiety (p<0.01).

Conclusions: The findings of this study indicate the importance and effective role of teacher emotional support and perfectionism in reducing students' math anxiety and overall increasing students' math self-efficacy. Therefore, it is essential that educational agents pay attention to the importance of the above-mentioned issues in order to increase students' math self-efficacy.
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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 15 June 2026