Predictors of Computer Anxiety: A Factor Mixture Model Analysis

Abstract

A mixture modeling approach was used to assess the existence of latent classes in terms of the perceptions of individuals toward computer anxiety and subsequently predictors of the identified latent classes were examined. The perceptions of individuals were measured using the Computer Anxiety Scale. Mixture models are ideally suited to represent subpopulations or classes of respondents with common patterns of responses. Using data from a sample of Turkish college students, two classes of respondents were identified and designated as occasionally uncomfortable users and as anxious computerphobic users. Results indicated that the best predictors of the identified classes were variables dealing with past computer experiences.

Computers, Internet and Smartphone Attitudes Among Romanian University Students

“…The higher anxiety level present with female students can be explained by their strong emotional response, the perceptions of threat in evaluative situations, or by less experience with computer. Students in the Science profile are less anxious, have more favourable attitudes towards the internet than those in the Humanities, confirming the positive impact of skills and interests over anxiety (Marcoulides et al, 2009). The students from the Humanist profile, however, have a greater sense of efficacy than those in the Science profile, which is probably explained by the lower difficulty of the ICT subjects found in the curriculum for the Humanist field.…”