The interactive effect of test anxiety and learning disabilities among adolescents

Abstract

The purpose of the present research was to expand the knowledge about test anxiety (TA) and its interactive effect on personality characteristics among adolescents who suffer from learning disabilities (LDs). The 166 participants aged 14–18 years, were divided into the following four groups: (1) adolescents with TA and with LD; (2) adolescents with TA but without LD; (3) adolescents without TA but with LD; and (4) adolescents without TA and without LD. The participants answered the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–Adolescent (MMPI-A) and Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI). MANOVA of the MMPI-A scales indicated that TA groups had more symptomatic scores than the No-TA counterparts on the measures of the TAI and in 38 out of 69 measures of the MMPI-A.