Investigation of the Relationship Between Parents’ Primary and Secondary Capacities, and Students’ Test Anxiety and Decision Making Styles.

Parents are among the most important stakeholders in education and training. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the core capacities that parents have developed as a result of their environment, personal characteristics, and cultural values. The second aim is to investigate the relationship between these capacities, referred to as primary and secondary capacities, their associated attitudes and behaviors, and middle school students’ test anxiety and decision-making styles. The study group initially included 724 students enrolled in grades 5 through 8 at Hamdullah Suphi Tanrıöver Secondary School in Karşıyaka, İzmir, and their parents. However, the final sample consisted of 247 students who fully responded to the online questionnaires delivered via WhatsApp and email, along with their parents, who completed the parent questionnaire within the designated timeframe. Data were collected using the Adolescent Decision-Making Styles Scale, the Wiesbaden Positive Psychotherapy and Positive Family Therapy Scale, and the Test Anxiety Inventory. Analyses were conducted using SPSS 25, employing descriptive statistics. The results showed that female students scored significantly higher than male students on the worry subscale (p = .028) and the emotionality subscale (p = .000) of the Test Anxiety Inventory. A significant gender difference was also observed in overall test anxiety scores (p = .001). Additionally, a statistically significant, low-strength, positive correlation was found between students’ scores on the worry subscale of the Test Anxiety Inventory and their parents’ scores on the punctuality, kindness, justice, loyalty, and relationship subscales of the Wiesbaden Positive Psychotherapy and Family Therapy Scale.