Background & objectives: Family structure and the position of the child in the family plays important role in the development of his/her personality. Some studies have found an significant association between the level of family function and variables including rape, deprivation, fear, anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactive disorder in children. So, the aim of this study was to determine the correlation between family function and anxiety in first year primary school students.

Methods: This study conducted using descriptive and correlational design. The study population consisted of 137 students studying in first grade primary non-profit schools located in the district one of the city of Hamadan, 2014-2015. A sample of 100 mothers and their children (50 male and 50 female) were selected to participate in the study. Participants responded to Family Function Scale (FFS) and Spence child anxiety questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and Pearson coefficient test were used to data analysis in SPSS-22.

Results: The results showed that general anxiety has negative relationship with emotional involvement (r=-0.91, p<0.05), problem solving (r= -0.81, p<0.05), emotional support and general family function (r= -0.89, p<0.05) in male students. Once the mothers had higher scores on these sub scales, boys obtained lower scores in the general anxiety. As well, there were significant negative association between emotional involvement with the fear of open spaces (r= -0.71, p<0.05) and fear of physical harm (r=-0.68, p<0.05) among the female students. Hence, the daughters of mothers who had higher scores in the scale gained lower scores in fear of open space and fear of physical harm.

Conclusions: According to the results of this research, it is necessary to teach improving family function techniques to parents. It’s necessary to inform parents about the impact of their performance in family regarding mental health of their children.