Abstract
BackgroundTest anxiety has a detrimental effect on test performance but current interventions for test anxiety have limited efficacy. Therefore, examination of newer psychological models of test anxiety is now required. Two transdiagnostic psychological models of emotional disorders that can account for anxiety are the intolerance of uncertainty model (IUM) and the Self-Regulatory Executive Function (S-REF) model. Intolerance of uncertainty, the stable disposition to find uncertainty distressing, is central to the IUM, while beliefs about thinking, metacognition, are central to the S-REF model. We tested for the first time the role of both intolerance of uncertainty and metacognitive beliefs in test anxiety.MethodsA cross-sectional design was used, with college students (n = 675) completing questionnaires assessing their test anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty, and metacognitive beliefs. Hierarchical linear regressions examined if intolerance of uncertainty and metacognitive beliefs were associated with test anxiety, after controlling for age and gender.ResultsFemales reported significantly more test anxiety than males. Partial correlations, controlling for gender, found intolerance of uncertainty and metacognitive beliefs were significantly and positively correlated with test anxiety. Hierarchical linear regressions found metacognitive beliefs explained an additional 13% of variance in test anxiety, after controlling for intolerance of uncertainty. When the order of entry was reversed, intolerance of uncertainty was only able to explain an additional 2% of variance, after controlling for metacognitive beliefs. In the final regression model, gender, intolerance of uncertainty and the metacognitive belief domains of ‘negative beliefs about the uncontrollability and danger of worry’ and ‘cognitive confidence’ were all significantly associated test anxiety, with ‘negative beliefs about the uncontrollability and danger of worry’ having the largest association.ConclusionsBoth intolerance of uncertainty and metacognitive beliefs are linked to test anxiety, but results suggest metacognitive beliefs have more explanatory utility, providing greater support for the S-REF model. Modification of intolerance of uncertainty and metacognitive beliefs could alleviate test anxiety and help students fulfil their academic potential.
Highlights
Testing is ubiquitous in higher education and students’ prospects for progression and graduating are dependent upon test performance
As females typically report greater test anxiety [3], worry, anxiety, and associated beliefs [45], independent t-tests examined for gender differences in independent (IUS-12, MCQ-30) and dependent (TAI) variables
Independent t tests found significant differences in scores between genders, with females scoring higher than males on test anxiety and ‘negative beliefs about uncontrollability and danger of worry’, but males scoring higher than females on ‘cognitive self-consciousness’
Summary
Testing is ubiquitous in higher education and students’ prospects for progression and graduating are dependent upon test performance. 25% of college students are highly test anxious [5,6,7], with females reporting more severe test anxiety severity than males [2]. Test anxious individuals react with excessive worry about the consequences of failure, and somatic anxiety symptoms (e.g., muscle tension) in tests [4]. Test anxiety interferes directly with the taking of tests, and influences students’ studying style, with test-anxious students more likely adopt a surface-learning approach [10, 11]. Given the negative effects of test anxiety on learning and test performance, understanding and treating test anxiety is essential so that students are able to fulfil their academic potential. Two transdiagnostic psychological models of emotional disorders that can account for anxiety are the intolerance of uncertainty model (IUM) and the Self-Regulatory Executive Function (S-REF) model. We tested for the first time the role of both intolerance of uncertainty and metacognitive beliefs in test anxiety
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