Abstract

The goal of the study was to examine the relationship between effort attribution, parental behaviour, test anxiety and achievement in sciences. We explored if the relationship between effort attribution, test anxiety and achievement was moderated by parental behaviour. Students in the last year of secondary school (N=215; 97 boys and 118 girls) completed self-report questionnaires for effort attribution, parental behaviour, and test anxiety. Students’ grades in sciences were collected from school registers. Results indicated that effort attribution and students’ autonomy positively predicted achievement in sciences. Students with a high level of parental control reported more worrisome thoughts. However, effort attribution did not predict students’ test anxiety. The implications of these findings regarding the necessity of attribution retraining for improving students’ achievement and emotions are discussed.