Beyond Fear of Failure
Exploring the Relationships between Parental Overprotection, Parental Criticism, Children’s/Adolescents’ Self-Compassion and their Performance Anxiety
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13404709 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tatiana Dias (University of Coimbra, corresponding author), Tatiana M Dias, Helena C Moreira (University of Coimbra) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-14 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Child Psychiatry & Human Development (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0009-398X • E-ISSN: 1573-3327 |
| Publisher | Springer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s10578-026-02000-y |
| PMID | 41831147 |
| OpenAlex | W7135392657 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 80 |
In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in performance-related concerns and a heightened fear of failure among children and adolescents across various settings, such as academics and sports. Despite this trend, research specifically addressing performance anxiety remains limited, with most studies focusing on the broader category of social anxiety. This study addresses this gap by investigating how perceived parental criticism and self-compassion among children/adolescents mediate the relationship between parental overprotection and performance anxiety during childhood and adolescence. The sample comprises 428 dyads of children/adolescents (M = 10y 9 m, SD = 1y 8 m; range = 6-15 years) and their respective educational guardian (85.6% female), recruited from school settings. A sequential mediation model was estimated to analyze the direct and indirect effects of parental overprotection on children's/adolescents' performance anxiety, through their perception of parental criticism and levels of self-compassion. Higher levels of parental overprotection were linked to higher levels of performance anxiety through the children's/adolescents' perception of parental criticism and the sequence of the two mediators under study. This study underscores the need for parental interventions to reduce parental overprotection and criticism and suggests that compassion-based interventions could be particularly effective in helping children/adolescents lower their levels of performance anxiety
Anxiety · Criticism · Mediation · Perception · Psychological intervention · Social anxiety · Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions · Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies · Sport Psychology and Performance
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The Association Between Overparenting, Parent‐Child Communication, and Entitlement and Adaptive Traits in Adult Children
The origins and nature of compassion focused therapy
Examining the association between parenting and childhood anxiety
Compassionate mind training for people with high shame and self‐criticism
Fears of compassion
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The Prevalence of Adolescent Social Fears and Social Anxiety Disorder in School Contexts
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The forest and the trees
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Self-compassion, Achievement Goals, and Coping with Academic Failure
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Os meus pais só me criticam” – Relações entre práticas educativas parentais (perfecionismo e crítica) e a autoestima, o autoconceito académico, a motivação e a utilização de estratégias de self-handicapping
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Parental and Peer Predictors of Social Anxiety in Youth
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Factors associated with music performance anxiety in adolescents
Assessment and examination stress in Key Stage 4
Parental criticism and the adolescent experience
The "What" and "Why" of Goal Pursuits
Self-Compassion
The development of anxiety
Understanding the link between anxious parental overprotection and academic confidence in emerging adults
Overprotective parenting and social anxiety in adolescents
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |