The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem in the Relationship between Psychological Capital, Academic Engagement, and Academic Procrastination with Academic Performance among Students in Al-Diwaniyah, Iraq

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.