title: Achievement goals as mediators of the relationship between competence beliefs and test anxiety.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous work suggests that the expectation of failure is related to higher test anxiety and achievement goals grounded in a fear of failure.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To test the hypothesis, based on the work of Elliot and Pekrun (2007), that the relationship between perceived competence and test anxiety is mediated by achievement goal orientations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Self-report data were collected from 275 students in post-compulsory education following courses in A Level Psychology.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Competence beliefs were inversely related to the worry and tension components of test anxiety, both directly and indirectly through a performance-avoidance goal orientation. A mastery-avoidance goal orientation offered an indirect route from competence beliefs to worry only.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings provide partial support for Elliot and Pekrun's (2007) model. Although significant mediating effects were found for mastery-avoidance and performance-avoidance goals, they were small and there may be other mechanisms to account for the relations between competence beliefs and test anxiety.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Psychological Sciences, Edge Hill University, UK. putwaind@edgehill.ac.uk
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Putwain
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Symes
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D001076:Aptitude; D001143:Arousal; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D003469:Culture; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D011584:Psychology / Q000193:education; D011594:Psychometrics; D012649:Self Concept; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D013732:Test Anxiety Scale / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014852:Wales; D055815:Young Adult