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Obsessive Beliefs and Academic Self-Handicapping: The Mediating Role of Inferential Confusion and Fear of Negative Evaluation in Medical Sciences Students

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Islamic Azad University of Medical Sciences, Qom Branch, Qom, Iran

10.30476/smsj.2026.107556.1656

Abstract

Introduction: Obsessive beliefs are cognitive-emotional factors affecting academic performance that may be associated with maladaptive thought processes such as inferential confusion and fear of negative evaluation. These factors may play an important role in the formation of self-handicapping behaviors in students. This study aimed to explain the mediating role of inferential confusion and fear of negative evaluation in the relationship between obsessive beliefs and academic self-handicapping in medical sciences students.
Methods: This study employed an applied fundamental and correlational design. The study population comprised all students at the Islamic Azad University, Qom Medical Sciences Branch, during the second semester of the 2023-2024 academic year. A total of 203 students were selected using convenience sampling. Participants completed the Academic Self-Handicapping Scale (ASHS), the Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire (OBQ-44), the Inference Confusion Questionnaire (ICO-EV), and the Fear of Negative Evaluation Questionnaire (FNES-B). Data were analyzed using correlation matrices and structural equation modeling in SPSS software (version 26) and PLS-3 software.
Results: The results indicated that obsessive beliefs directly predicted inferential confusion (β=0.650), fear of negative evaluation (β=0.512), and academic self-handicapping (β=0.290). Furthermore, inferential confusion (β=0.216) and fear of negative evaluation (β=0.178) were significantly associated with academic self-handicapping. Analysis of the indirect pathways indicated that obsessive beliefs indirectly affected academic self-handicapping through inferential confusion (β=0.140, P=0.006) and fear of negative evaluation (β=0.091, P=0.043).
Conclusion: Obsessive beliefs directly and indirectly affected academic self-handicapping through inferential confusion and fear of negative evaluation.

Keywords

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Sadra Medical Journal
Volume 14, Issue 2
June 2026
Pages 359-374
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