The Mediating Role of Reading Self-Efficacy in the Relationship between Tolerance of Ambiguity and Reading Anxiety among Iraqi EFL Undergraduate Students

This study investigated the mediating role of reading self-efficacy in the relationship between tolerance of ambiguity and reading anxiety among Iraqi EFL undergraduate students. A sample of 155 students (80 females, 75 males) from the University of Kufa completed three instruments: The Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale (Ely, 1995), Reading Self-Efficacy Scale (Mills, Pajares, & Herron, 2006), and Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (Saito, Garza, & Horwitz, 1999). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and mediation analysis with the PROCESS macro. Results revealed significant negative correlations between tolerance of ambiguity and reading anxiety (r = -.486, p < .001), and between reading self-efficacy and reading anxiety (r = -.614, p < .001), and a significant positive correlation between tolerance of ambiguity and reading self-efficacy (r = .532, p < .001). Mediation analysis confirmed that reading self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship between tolerance of ambiguity and reading anxiety (indirect effect = -.345, 95% CI -.468, -.224), explaining 59.6% of the total effect. These findings highlight the importance of enhancing both tolerance of ambiguity and reading self-efficacy to reduce reading anxiety among EFL learners.