Abstract
Test anxiety caused by intolerance of uncertainty has a negative impact on the physical and mental health of student athletes, especially in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A total of 556 grade three high school student athletes in Chongqing, China, were investigated using the Test Anxiety Scale (TAS), Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-12 (IUS-12), Perceived Social Support Scale, and Coping Style Scale for Middle School Students. Results reveal that more than half the student athletes experienced test anxiety, and the severity was above average during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a significant correlation between intolerance of uncertainty, perceived social support, coping style, and test anxiety. A positive correlation was found between test anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty, and coping style toward emotions, and a negative correlation between test anxiety, perceived social support, and coping style toward problems. Intolerance of uncertainty has a direct predictive effect on test anxiety, and perceived social support and coping style play a chain mediator role between intolerance of uncertainty and test anxiety. By constructing the mediating effect model, we can, to some extent, reveal the mechanism of the influence of intolerance of uncertainty on test anxiety. This study has a certain reference value for the prevention of test anxiety in student athletes in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Highlights
At the end of 2019, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first identified, and spread globally in a short span of time
To further explore the current situation of student athletes’ test anxiety, this study examined the differences in demographic variables such as gender, examinee category, exam type, and athlete level
(3) This study only focused on the mediating effect of coping style and perceived social support on the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and test anxiety, but in reality there are other mediating variables, such as personality traits, self-esteem, self-efficacy, etc., which need to be further studied in the future
Summary
At the end of 2019, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first identified, and spread globally in a short span of time. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that COVID-19 has become a public health emergency of international concern and declared it a global pandemic. This newly emerging, highly pathogenic infectious disease is highly contagious, with a wide range of transmission routes, high fatality rates, and a high degree of uncertainty of risk sources (Sun and Zhou, 2020). When the epidemic will end, whether the college entrance examination for sports major students can be held as scheduled, and how to guarantee the physical and mental health of students athletes under the normal prevention and control during the epidemic period have become the hot topics of social concern
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