Abstract: ObjectiveTo investigate the status quo of anxiety emotion among middle school students and the effect of parental education level on the students' anxiety. MethodsThe Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders(SCARED)and a self-compiled questionnaire were adopted to investigate 3 210 middle school students. ResultsThe positive rate of anxiety in the students was 36.6%(1 175/3 210).The positive rate of the urban middle school students(32.6%)was lower than that of the rural students,(47.5%),with significant difference(χ²=60.480,P=0.000).The anxiety score was 22.65±11.62,19.11±11.91,and 17.40±11.54,and the positive rate of anxiety was 46.9%,33.7%,and 30.9% for the students with fathers having education level of primary school or lower,junior high school,and technical secondary school or higher,respectively.For the students with mothers having education level of primary school or lower,junior high school,and technical secondary school or higher,the anxiety score was 22.70±11.57,18.73±11.54,and 17.55±11.84 and the positive rate of anxiety was 47.7%,33.0%,and 30.1%,respectively,with significant differences(P<0.05).Statistical analyses showed that the score and the positive rate of anxiety were inversely correlated to parental education level among middle school students. ConclusionThe anxiety emotion of the middle school students in Changzhi was obvious and inverse related to their parents' education level.