Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate the mediating role of self-esteem in the relationship between psychological capital, academic engagement, and academic procrastination with academic performance among high school students in Al-Diwaniyah, Iraq.
Methodology: The research method was descriptive-correlational with a structural equation modeling design. Among the students of Al-Diwaniyah schools in the first semester of the 2023-2024 academic year, 250 were randomly selected using multi-stage cluster sampling, of which 194 completed the questionnaires. Data were collected using the Academic Performance Questionnaire (Pham & Taylor, 1990), the Academic Procrastination Questionnaire (Solomon & Rothblum, 1984), the Academic Engagement Questionnaire (Fredricks et al., 2004), the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (Nguyen et al., 2012), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965), and analyzed using SPSS version 26 and AMOS version 24.
Findings: The findings showed that there is a significant positive relationship between psychological capital and academic engagement with self-esteem and academic performance, and between self-esteem and academic performance (p < .01). Additionally, academic procrastination has a significant negative relationship with self-esteem and academic performance (p < .01). Furthermore, self-esteem partially mediates the relationship between psychological capital, academic engagement, and academic procrastination with academic performance.
Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that fostering self-esteem through the development of psychological capital and effective academic strategies can lead to improved academic performance.
