Article Content

Abstract

Academic anxiety may be defined as a generalized form of anxiety observed in the context of school, creating tension in the student and with cognitive, affective and somatic impacts. In this context, the aim of the study was to reveal the relationships between attachment styles, self-esteem, cognitive distortions and academic anxiety in university students. The research group comprised students attending in two different universities. Three-Dimensional Attachment Styles Scale, Two-Dimensional Self-Esteem Scale, Cognitive Distortions Scale and Academic Anxiety Scale which is developed within the scope of the study, were used. As a result of the structural model, the direct effects of secure and avoidant attachment styles on academic anxiety were determined to be insignificant. The indirect effect of the secure attachment style on academic anxiety mediated by self-esteem and cognitive distortions and the indirect effect of avoidant attachment on academic anxiety mediated by self-esteem and cognitive distortions were identified to be significant. For the anxious-ambivalent attachment style, both the direct effect on academic anxiety and the indirect effect on academic anxiety mediated by self-esteem and cognitive distortions were documented to be significant. The findings are discussed and some recommendations are presented for researchers and implementors according to the results.

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Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Contributions

The idea, source, critical approach and writing of the article were carried out by the authors and all authors contributed equally.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kenan Bülbül.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Cite this article

Bülbül, K., Odaci, H. Relationships Between Attachment Styles, Self Esteem, Cognitive Distortions and Academic Anxiety of University Students: Trials of Alternative Models. J Rat-Emo Cognitive-Behav Ther 43, 36 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-025-00596-z

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  • DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-025-00596-z

Keywords

  • Academic anxiety
  • Attachment styles
  • Self esteem
  • Cognitive distortions
  • Structural equation modeling
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