Predictors of test anxiety in doctor of pharmacy students: An empirical study

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze factors related to test anxiety among Doctor of Pharmacy students enrolled in their first three didactic years at two diverse universities. A survey-based cross-sectional study design with previously validated questionnaires was used to test the objectives at University of Houston (Texas, USA) and Howard University ( Washington,DC , USA). Students indicated moderate test anxiety (2.52+/- 0.84) on a scale by comparing their normal behavior with how they felt when anxious and rating it with a scale of 1 – 5, with 1 being atypical and 5 being normal behavior. Around 40.1% of students indicated “family” as their support group during times of stress/anxiety. Test anxiety was negatively correlated with academic performance (p<0.05), academic competence (AC), (p<0.05), test competence (TC) (p<0.05) and time management (TM) (p< 0.05). A step wise multiple regression analysis indicated that AC and TC were the significant predictors of test anxiety (p,0.05). Understanding factors that may allay test anxiety in pharmacy students is important for successful interventions in order to help them achieve academic success