The Relations Among Mothers’ Parenting Anxiety, Children’s Prior Learning, Ego Strength, and Test Anxiety

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among mothers’ parenting anxiety, children’s prior learning, ego strength, and test anxiety. To achieve this, a survey study designed for children of ages 11-12 and their mothers was conducted in the Seoul Metropolitan Area. The main findings of the current study are as follows: First, both mothers’ parenting anxiety and prior learning affect children’s test anxiety. Second, prior learning mediates the relationship between mothers’ parenting anxiety and children’s test anxiety. Third, only certain elements of children’s ego strength--sociality and competence--showed to have moderation effects. This study confirms previous research findings in showing that prior learning can be detrimental to children’s mental health. Additionally, however, with the fact that children’s sociality and competence can serve as a buffer, the study may be able to provide a direction for future research regarding programs designed to help mothers and children.