How Attitudes towards Curiosity Influence Resilience and Anxiety Control in Elementary Students: The Mediating Role of Critical Thinking

Educational settings are crucial for fostering children's cognitive development and promoting positive mental health. Additionally, children's willingness to explore and ask questions can greatly enhance these qualities. This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of critical thinking in the relationships between attitudes towards curiosity, resilience and anxiety control. A total of 573 elementary-school students were recruited through stratified sampling. The instruments used in this study were the Children’s Attitudes Towards Curiosity Scale, the Critical Thinking Scale, the Anxiety Control Scale, and the Child and Youth Resilience Scale. Correlation results indicated that attitudes towards curiosity was associated with critical thinking, anxiety control, and resilience. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), mediation analyses showed that attitudes towards curiosity exerted an indirect effect on anxiety control through critical thinking. However, critical thinking did not mediate the relationship between attitudes towards curiosity and resilience. Preliminary analyses showed no significant gender differences in the study variables (p > 0.05). The findings highlight the important role of critical thinking in attitudes towards curiosity, particularly in its beneficial effects on children's anxiety control in educational settings.