Effects of an Academic Beliefs Intervention on High School Students’ Academic Anxiety

Academic anxiety has emerged as a global concern in education. Yet, the role of academic beliefs has long been overlooked in efforts to understand and alleviate such anxiety. This study developed and tested an academic beliefs intervention (ABI) against both an active control (cognitive-behavioral therapy, CBT) and a control group in a cluster-randomized controlled trial (n = 220). Our results showed that both ABI and CBT significantly reduced students’ academic anxiety at post-test, with only ABI showing sustained effect at the one-month follow-up. Mediation analysis further revealed that the effects of the ABI on academic anxiety were mediated by changes in zero-sum competitive belief. Moreover, among students with high levels of academic anxiety, the ABI significantly decreased zero-sum competitive belief, strengthened growth mindset and belief in multiple intelligences, and produced a reduction in academic anxiety. These findings highlight the critical role of academic beliefs in shaping academic anxiety, underscoring the value of systematically fostering adaptive academic beliefs into everyday educational practices to sustainably alleviate student anxiety.