Test Anxiety in Adolescent Students: Different Responses According to the Components of Anxiety as a Function of Sociodemographic and Academic Variables

Abstract

ObjectiveTest anxiety (TA) is a construct that has scarcely been studied based on Lang’s three-dimensional model of anxiety. The objective of this article is to investigate the repercussion of sociodemographic and academic variables on different responses for each component of anxiety and for the type of test in adolescent students.MethodA total of 1181 students from 12 to 18 years old (M = 14.7 and SD = 1.8) participated, of whom 569 were boys (48.2%) and 612 girls (51.8%). A sociodemographic questionnaire and the Cuestionario de Ansiedad ante los examenes-Adaptado (CAEX-A) [Test Anxiety Questionnaire-Adapted] an adaptation for Spanish secondary school levels (ESO) and Bachillerato were administered.ResultsGirls scored higher on the cognitive and physiological components of TA than boys, the intensity of the physiological response increasing with age. Bachillerato level students reported more physiological anxiety than those of ESO level. Students with better marks in the previous year presented more anxiety in the cognitive component, while those who obtained the lower mark presented higher anxiety values in the behavioral component. Participants reported that the types of tests that cause them more anxiety were oral tests in front of the class, oral presentation in front of a panel, and mathematics tests.ConclusionAdolescents show a differential response of TA based on the physiological, cognitive and motor components, mediated by the variables of gender, age, grade, academic performance and type of exam. These results serve to design specific intervention programs to manage anxiety in situations of academic assessment.

School educational models and child mental health among K-12 students: a scoping review

“…Innumerable exams during the educational process starting from primary schools may lead to increased anxiety and depression levels [ 97 , 98 ], particularly among senior students preparing for college entrance examinations [ 99 ]. Students with higher test scores had a lower probability to have emotional and behavioral problems [ 100 ], in comparison with students who failed examinations [ 93 , 101 ]. Depression and test anxiety were found to be highly correlated [ 102 ].…”

Ansiedade cognitiva de provas em universitários do Brasil: O papel das variáveis sociodemográficas e traços de personalidade

“…Ademais, também é possível averiguar a influência de outras variáveis individuais, como as sociodemográficas. Por exemplo, a maioria das pesquisas sugere que as mulheres tendem a apresentar níveis mais elevados de ansiedade cognitiva (Cassady & Johnson, 2002;Ne'Eman-Haviv & Bonny-Noach, 2019;Torrano et al, 2020;von der Embse et al, 2018). Além disso, nos períodos iniciais dos cursos, os alunos tendem a experimentar níveis mais exacerbados de ansiedade da prova, em decorrências do estresse, preocupações e incertezas sobre seu desempenho acadêmico nessa fase de estudo (Tsegay et al, 2019).…”

School anxiety profiles in Spanish adolescents and their differences in psychopathological symptoms

“…Therefore, this construct is currently of interest in educational research on adolescence [5]. In this sense, recent studies examined the multidimensionality of school anxiety based on Lang's theory by using adolescent samples from France [6] and Spain [7]. Students showed different levels of anxiety in the cognitive, psychophysiological, and behavioral responses.…”

“…These groups were named Low School Anxiety, Average School Anxiety, and High School Anxiety, since its members showed low, moderate, and high levels of school anxiety in all mentioned situations, respectively. In this regard, more research examining school anxiety profiles based on Lang's model of the triple response system is needed [7], beyond the study of profiles based on school anxiety-provoking situations as it has been done so far in literature [10].…”