Self-esteem refers to individuals’ perceptions of themselves, encompassing self-confidence and personal worth. Low self-esteem among students tends to affect their academic development, such as feeling incapable and lacking confidence in facing academic challenges, which in turn may increase academic anxiety. This study seeks to analyze the effect of self-esteem on academic anxiety through attribution bias among senior high school students in East Cirebon. The research employed a correlational design with a sample of 351 students selected using proportional multistage random sampling. Data were collected using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE) with 10 items, the Academic Anxiety Scale with 11 items, and the Attribution Bias Instrument (ABI) with 32 items. Hypothesis testing was conducted using Hayes Model 4. The analysis revealed a nonsignificant indirect effect of self-esteem on academic anxiety (sig > 0.05). Furthermore, the direct effect of self-esteem on academic anxiety in the presence of attribution bias was also found to be nonsignificant (p > 0.05). Thus, attribution bias does not mediate the relationship between self-esteem and academic anxiety. Nevertheless, these findings provide important implications for educational practitioners, particularly guidance and counseling teachers, to continue emphasizing the strengthening of students’ self-esteem and their attributional understanding in order to reduce academic anxiety.
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