Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the longitudinal relationship between anxiety and self-esteem among college students. Participants and methods: A total of 2473 Chinese college students were tracked, with their anxiety and self-esteem levels collected annually over the four academic years. The study employed a four-wave random intercept cross-lagged panel model to examine the prospective relationship between anxiety and self-esteem. Results: The anxiety levels were negatively associated with self-esteem over campus life. Results of the four-wave cross-lagged panel model revealed that low self-esteem maintained having subsequent negative impacts on students' anxiety levels, while the effects became progressively stronger over the four academic years. Meanwhile, no significant prospective effects were identified of anxiety levels on self-esteem. Conclusion: The study confirmed self-esteem as one of the leading contributors to anxiety for college students and emphasized the importance of nourishing the self-esteem of students to alleviate their anxiety issues and improve their mental health at college.
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