The Moderating Role of Academic Agility in the Relationship Between Academic Perfectionism and Research Anxiety Among Graduate Students: A Proposed Structural Model

Abstract

Background: Graduate education is associated with increasing academic pressure, particularly in research activities. Academic perfectionism has been identified as a key factor influencing students’ psychological functioning, with maladaptive forms linked to anxiety, while academic agility has emerged as an adaptive capacity that supports coping in complex academic contexts

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the relationship between academic perfectionism and research anxiety and to investigate the moderating role of academic agility among graduate students.

Methods: A descriptive-correlational predictive design was used with a sample of 380 graduate students. Data were collected using validated scales of academic perfectionism, academic agility, and research anxiety. Analyses included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, moderation analysis, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).

Results: Findings showed high levels of academic perfectionism, moderate academic agility, and low research anxiety. Maladaptive perfectionism dimensions were positively associated with research anxiety while adaptive perfectionism was negatively associated with this variable. Academic agility did not have a direct significant effect but the interaction between perfectionism and academic agility was significant, confirming its moderating role. The model explained 14.3% of the variance in research anxiety.

Conclusion: Academic perfectionism significantly predicts research anxiety, but its impact varies depending on students’ academic agility. Academic agility acts as a buffering mechanism that mitigates the negative effects of maladaptive perfectionism, highlighting the importance of adaptive skills in graduate education.