High Communication Apprehension Research Articles

Communication self-efficacy and communication apprehension in a national sample of undergraduate nursing students: A cross-sectional study

AimThe aim of this study was to explore communication apprehension and communication self-efficacy in undergraduate nursing students and identify factors that contribute to communication apprehension and communication self-efficacy. BackgroundCommunication education and skills training is often incorporated into undergraduate nursing curricula; however, communication competence continues to be a problem for novice nurses. Communication apprehension is a concept that has been only minimally researched in nursing education and can have a negative impact on student communication readiness. DesignThis study employed a cross-sectional design and surveyed a national sample of undergraduate nursing students between October 2022 and March 2023. MethodsAn online survey was sent out to undergraduate nursing student members of the National Student Nurses Association as well as nursing education programs in 8 states and the District of Columbia. The survey was comprised of demographic questions, the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension, and the communication subscale of the Nursing Student Self-Efficacy Survey. ResultsApproximately 22.1 % of the students had high communication apprehension, with the highest communication apprehension in public speaking and classroom communication. Communication self-efficacy scores ranged from 12 to 40, with a mean of 31.65 (SD = 6.28). Communication apprehension and communication self-efficacy were significantly negatively correlated. Positive and negative affect were significant predictors of communication apprehension. Affect, as well as current healthcare employment were significant predictors of communication self-efficacy. When controlling for all demographic, educational, and psychological variables, communication apprehension was a significant predictor of communication self-efficacy. ConclusionsThis study is one of the few to explore communication apprehension in undergraduate nursing students. Data demonstrated that communication apprehension is a prevalent problem for many nursing students. Communication apprehension was also found to be a significant predictor of communication self-efficacy after controlling for all other variables. Progression through nursing education did not show a correlation with a decrease in the students’ communication apprehension or increase in communication self-efficacy. Given these findings, educational efforts aimed at reducing communication apprehension and enhancing students' school-related affect could contribute to an improvement in communication self-efficacy.

Communication Apprehension among the Communication Students of Bangladesh

The aim of this study is to assess the communication apprehension (CA) among the communication students of Bangladesh. The data were collected from 283 students from 10 public universities through the survey method. McCroskey's (1982) Personal Report of Communication Apprehension, also known as the PRCA-24 test was adopted for this study. The data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics of SPSS 23 software. The study explores that the mean communication apprehension score of communication students of Bangladesh is 68.12 which ascertains the medium level of CA of the students. It also says that 12.6% of students have high CA, 64.7% have medium CA and the rest 13.8% have a low level of communication apprehension. Students are more apprehensive in public communication rather than in group, meeting, and interpersonal communication. Male students have less CA than female students. This research also reveals that those students experience more CA who suffer from depression, prefer loneliness, and spend more time on social media. Communication apprehensive students prefer to sit in the back row or alongside in the classroom setting. Also, CA score is decreased when the age of the student is increased. The study also assesses that students involved with co-curricular activities have less CA than the other students. The study recommends that universities should offer more practical courses in communication to overcome communication apprehension. Keywords: communication, apprehension, communication students, Bangladesh, university students

Exploring communication apprehension in nursing and healthcare education: A scoping review

AbstractCommunication among healthcare professionals is critical to optimizing patient outcomes, and communication education is incorporated into the educational programs of healthcare professions students. Communication can be a source of stress for new healthcare professionals, however, there is a lack of research on communication apprehension (CA) in healthcare students, especially in nursing education. This scoping review sought to explore CA and factors associated with CA among healthcare professions students. This scoping review report was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (Tricco et al., Annals of Internal Medicine, 2018, 169, 467–473). Twenty studies of healthcare professions students were included for analysis. The percentage of health professions students with high CA ranged from 0.7% to 27%. Five out of seven intervention studies demonstrated a significant decrease in CA after the intervention. This review identified inconsistent associations between CA and various individual and educational factors. More research is needed utilizing rigorous research designs, designs employing qualitative methodology, and studies to investigate the impact of language on CA in health professions students who speak English as a second language.

Communication Apprehension Among Autistic Professionals

Prior research has shown that stress and anxiety are commonly reported by autistic adults in social-communication situations in their personal and professional lives. Yet, little research exists to demonstrate the extent and nature of communication apprehension in the workplace among autistic professionals. This survey study of 324 autistic professionals showed that autistic professionals experience high communication apprehension, particularly in comparison to the general population. As communication situations become less predictable, autistic professionals tended to disproportionately experience higher communication apprehension.

Communication Apprehension among Students of Bangladesh: A Comparative Study between Online and Offline Classes

This research study looks at students’ communication apprehension (CA) in online and offline classes. We wanted to comprehend whether their concern has changed about CA during online classes or not. In this quantitative research, we completed two surveys that asked them demographic questions. Four hundred and ninety-nine (499) students of public universities took part in online classes in August 2021 by completing the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24). Another survey was conducted on 438 students during the offline classes in February 2022. We then analyzed the data in SPSS. The PRCA-24 scores of students in both studies determine that most of the students have high communication apprehension. They suffer from general anxiety, do not want to involve in any discussion during class, and have less self-esteem. It has been found that students' fears of communication in academic settings negatively affect their learning and performance. This study can be useful in communication disorder discipline to find out where is the actual problem to communicate. This study will pave the way for further research on what steps can be taken to overcome the problem of fear in communication or whether any changes in teaching methods can be made.

Communication Apprehension in the Workplace: Focusing on Inclusion

Communication apprehension can lead to professional challenges for individuals, teams, and organizations. This is the first study of communication apprehension that involved a randomized national survey of working adults in the United States and captured broad representation in terms of age, gender, race/ethnicity, managerial status, and other factors. The study showed that communication apprehension is common, including in group discussions, meetings, interpersonal situations, and public speaking. It is significantly more common among early-career professionals, women, introverted professionals, and professionals with anxiety. Interpersonal situations appear to be the situations in which contemporary professionals are most likely to experience high communication apprehension. This study suggests more attention is needed to address communication apprehension in interpersonal and group situations. It also frames communication apprehension as a matter of inclusion and team performance.

Communication Apprehension Among Health Professions Students in Brazil

Objective. To determine the levels of communication apprehension experienced by health professions students in Brazil.Method. A cross-sectional study of dentistry, pharmacy, medicine, and nursing students at a Brazilian university was conducted from December 2019 to May 2020. The students were invited to complete the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24) and provide demographic data. Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted.Results. A total of 644 health students answered the survey, and 25.5% were classified as having high communication apprehension. Male participants had significantly lower PRCA-24 scores than female participants. No significant differences were found between PRCA-24 scores by age category or academic year. Medical students had significantly lower mean PRCA-24 scores than pharmacy students.Conclusion. The prevalence of communication apprehension was high among health professions students. Women and pharmacy students had the highest communication apprehension scores. Health educators should consider the effects of communication apprehension on students and use adequate interventions during communication skills training to alleviate this apprehension.

The relationship between communication apprehension and leadership styles in a job recruitment process

Nowadays, many organizations seek to accelerate the employees’ communication effectiveness. However, only a few put efforts into reducing communication apprehension and understanding their potential in leadership. This paper seeks to investigate the correlation between communication apprehension and leadership styles, and consequently tries to investigate its impact on individuals’ success in a job recruitment test. A total of 114 participants were gathered in an online survey from a government institution’s recruitment process. The inferential statistic tests (ANOVA) were used to determine differences in leadership styles and their communication apprehension based on respondents’ success in the recruitment process. Results showed that respondents who have high communication apprehension would display task-oriented leadership behaviors and were tended to be more focusing on their role and performance, while the lower communication apprehension indicated more relation-oriented leadership behaviors. Moreover, applicants with a relational leadership style would likely pass a job recruitment test and were more likely to have a successful result in a recruitment process than ones with a task-oriented leadership style. Additionally, this research also gives a glimpse of communication apprehension study in non-western countries. The findings suggest a need for organizations in addressing these issues in order to develop their employees’ communication capacity. Limitations and future research are also discussed in this paper.

Deskripsi Perilaku Kecemasan Komunikasi Mahasiswa Bimbingan dan Konseling Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia

COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION TENDENCY ON STUDENTS GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING AT INDONESIA UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION. Adequate competence in communicating without experiencing communication apprehension is very needful for the student to be able to communicate effectively, and achieve success in academic or career in the future. Communication apprehension would affect negatively in life. This study aims to determine the description of communication apprehension tendency of student guidance and counseling at the Indonesia University of Education. Respondent in this study is student guidance and counseling 2nd grade at the Indonesia University of Education in aggregate 33 students. The data collection process is through instruments with the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24). The approach used is quantitative with descriptive research methods. The results of the study describe the percentage of achievement scores of students’ communication apprehension tendencies in the moderate category is amount to 23 students, 2) students guidance and counseling experience high communication apprehension in the interpersonal conversation context.

Communication apprehension and level of anxiety in the medical students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences

BACKGROUND:Communication apprehension (CA) is the fear or anxiety about communicating. This study was designed to investigate the CA and its related factors in the medical students at Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences (RUMS).MATERIALS AND METHODS:In this cross-sectional study, personal report of CA (PRCA-24) was administered to 340 medical and paramedical students to measure anxiety in four domains of large groups, small groups, public speaking, and dyadic interaction. Pearson's correlation and linear regression analysis were used to investigate the relationship between CA and the variables of birth order, number of siblings, and university entrance score. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi-square and Kruskal–Wallis Test).RESULTS:CA in the dimension of public speaking was higher than the other dimensions. Evaluation of the economic stability and its relationship to CA indicated a significant difference among all the domains of the PRCA-24. There was a significant relationship between the scores of CA and the number of siblings (P = 0.001). Linear regression and Pearson's correlation tests indicated a significant correlation between the variables of birth order, number of siblings, and university entrance score. The correlation between the CA with dimensions of group discussion, interpersonal, speaking, and meeting was weak but significant (P < 0.01).CONCLUSION:Without communication, the materialization and development of the human community are not possible. This aspect is more evident and crucial in the healthcare industry. Based on the results of this study, the medical and paramedical students at RUMS have a medium-to-high level of CA. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to detect students with high CA to prevent further communication problems after graduation.

Helping patients reduce anxiety and choose new physicians through improved provider biographies

Objective: Not being able to effectively communicate with a new physician because of high anxiety associated with the interaction could lead to issues not being addressed, or even inaccurate diagnoses. Using uncertainty reduction and media richness theories as guidance, this study sought to find ways health educators within healthcare organisations could help prospective patients reduce their communication apprehension (CA) prior to a consultation. Methods: A total of 90 participants with high Communication Apprehension (CA) with respect to physicians were randomly exposed to two biographies of two different physicians in counterbalanced order that varied in the kind of information provided about the physician (primarily professional or personal), and the media through which the information was presented (text or video). Setting: An online experiment surrounding primary care provider selection. Results: Repeated measures analyses revealed that CA was reduced the greatest when participants viewed video biographies and biographies containing personal information about the physicians. Participants indicated they would want to visit the physician with whom they had the lowest level of CA. Conclusion: This research highlights improvements health educators or service provider managers could make to their physicians’ online biographies to help high-CA patients reduce their apprehension, and make the choice of the next physician much easier. Notably, including personal information about providers, and providing video introductions, reduces CA most significantly.

Communication Apprehension and Fear of Physician in the Patients Referring to the Clinics of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences

Communication Apprehension and Fear of Physician in the Patients Referring to the Clinics of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences

Communication Apprehension, Self-Perceived Communication Competence, and Willingness to Communication in Singapore

Based in the assertion that different cultures value aspects of communication differently, this study explored the position of Singapore on the continuum of communication apprehension (CA), self-perceived communication competence (SPCC), and willingness to communicate (WTC). Responses were obtained from 209 self-identified ethnic-Chinese born in Singapore and 105 Malay immigrants. The results revealed ethnic-Chinese to have low self-reported CA, while Malays had high CA in comparison to regional neighbors. Malays and ethnic-Chinese both had low WTC and low SPCC levels in comparison to regional neighbors. The findings show a potential “immigrant effect,” as Malay immigrants had much higher CA than ethnic-Chinese. Moreover, further studies on these communication traits should explore ingroup differences in CA, SPCC, and WTC.

Reducing Communication Apprehension for New Patients Through Information Found Within Physicians’ Biographies

This study investigated whether state communication apprehension (CA) with physicians, for high CA patients, can be reduced before consultations by manipulating information found within physicians’ online biographies. Participants were presented with three experimentally manipulated physician biographies and asked to choose which physician they would want to visit to get a hypothetical ailment checked out. Guided by uncertainty reduction theory, results support a path model where increases in perceived similarities between a patient and doctor led to greater uncertainty reduction, greater liking, and subsequent reductions in CA with the physician for high CA participants. In addition, the majority of participants decided to visit the physician with whom they perceived the greatest similarity. The importance of reducing CA in the medical context is discussed, as well as theoretical implications for communication researchers. The results also provide practical guidance for health care systems to help improve their current physician biographical offerings available to prospective patients.

The Influence of Communication Apprehension on Superiors' Propensity for and Practice of Participative Decision Making

This investigation examined if traitlike communication apprehension (CA) serves as a significant predictor of superiors' propensity for and practice of participative decision making (PDM)—that is, involving others in decision-making processes. A total of 219 superiors recruited from a variety of organizations served as participants in this study. Results revealed that traitlike CA is a significant determinant of variation in superiors' inclination for, as well as their actual practice of, PDM. These findings suggest that superiors with lower CA possess favorable perceptions of PDM and are more inclined to involve others in decision-making processes than their colleagues with higher CA. Conversely, results suggest that superiors with higher CA typically possess less favorable perceptions of PDM and are less likely to involve others when making decisions. Theoretical and practical implications underpinning these results are explored. Future research directions are also proposed.

The Relationship Between Communication Apprehension and Learning Preferences in an Organizational Setting

This study extends previous research by examining the relationship between communication apprehension (CA) and learning preferences in an organizational setting. Findings suggest a correlation between employees’ high CA and a preference for the reflective observation learning mode as well as the diverging and assimilating learning styles. Conversely, results revealed a correlation between employees’ low CA and a preference for the concrete experience and active experimentation learning modes as well as the accommodating learning style. The author discusses the theoretical and practical significance of these results as well as proposes future research directions.

An Evaluation of Communication Apprehension in Adolescents with Velopharyngeal Inadequacy

This investigation evaluated the construct of communication apprehension (CA) in adolescents with velopharyngeal inadequacy (VPI). Prospective comparative study. The investigation was conducted in a hospital-based clinic, voice laboratory, and the homes of participants. Two groups of children participated in this study. The first group was composed of 14 children between the ages of 8 and 14 years who attended the velopharyngeal inadequacy (VPI) clinic at our institution, and the second group was composed of 14 age-matched children from the community with no history of speech or voice disorders. The study involved completion of the Measure of Elementary Communication Apprehension (MECA) by all 28 participants (14 experimental and 14 control subjects). Reliability of the subjects' responses to the MECA was also evaluated. Communication apprehension scores obtained from the MECA were the main focus of the study. Children with VPI experienced significantly higher levels of CA than did those in the control group. Moderate-to-good reliability of the MECA was found. Based on these data, children with VPI may be experiencing increased levels of CA. Consequently, the experience of high CA has the potential to affect the communication performance and social functioning of children with VPI.

THE TYPES OF COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES USED BY SPEAKING CLASS STUDENTS WITH DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION LEVELS IN ENGLISH DEPARTMENT OF PETRA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY, SURABAYA

This article reports on a study that aims to find out the types of Communication Strategies used and mostly used by students with high and low levels of Communication Apprehension and whether students with high level of Communication Apprehension used more numbers of Communication Strategies. The subjects in a created classroom were asked to retell a pictorial story and a pictorial instruction. The results showed that students with high Communication Apprehension level used more numbers of Communication Strategies.

Performance visualization: Does the nature of the speech model matter?

Research indicates that performance visualization is an effective way to reduce communication apprehension and reduce behavioral disruption (Ayres, Hopf, & Ayres 1997). The present study examined whether the impact of performance visualization on communication apprehension (CA) and behavior was enhanced by using a student speech as the image target rather than a “great speech”. These data indicate that a student speech model is superior to a great speech in reducing behavioral disruption among high CA speakers. These findings and their implications are considered in the discussion section of this report.

Paradoxical Intention: An Alternative for the Reduction of Communication Apprehension?

This investigation examined whether paradoxical intention, an intervention for stage fright and other problems, impacts communication apprehension (CA). Using a pretest/post‐test design, high CA individuals were randomly assigned to paradoxical intention, visualization, placebo, or control conditions. In general, high CAs exposed to the paradoxical intention and visualization conditions reported lower CA levels than those in the placebo and control conditions. The paradoxical intention and visualization conditions did not differ from one another. These findings and their implications are discussed at the conclusion of this report.