Trait Test Anxiety Research Articles

EEG correlates of trait test anxiety in the flanker task for adolescents

Adolescents face constant exams and often experience severe test anxiety. Previous studies suggested that test anxiety impairs individuals’ inhibitory control. Neurophysiological evidence suggests that anxiety interferes with the recruitment of the prefrontal region of the brain, which modulates top-down attentional control during the completion of inhibitory control tasks. However, there is little neurophysiological evidence regarding how test anxiety impairs inhibitory control in adolescents. This study used the flanker task to measure individuals’ inhibitory control ability, and both event-related potential and electroencephalography indicators were used to measure neurophysiological processes. The results showed that increased trait test anxiety was significantly negatively correlated with theta power oscillation, while adolescents performed both incongruent and congruent trials. This finding suggests that trait test anxiety adolescents are less able to exert greater effort to complete the inhibitory control task and show impoverished top-down attentional control resources.

Effects of Test Mode and Medium on Elementary School Students’ Test Experience

Abstract: The use of digital media in education can bring great benefits and its use in schooling is steadily increasing. Administrating paper- versus computer-based as well as fixed-item versus adaptive tests could create differences in test experience, which can threaten the comparability of test results. This study investigated how the pen-and-paper, computer-based, and computer-adaptive test formats of a standardized reading comprehension test affect test anxiety and motivation among German fourth-grade students. A within-class randomized field trial with 387 fourth graders (aged: 9–10 years; 46.3% female) was conducted. Repeated-measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) revealed no differences in state test anxiety between the test formats when controlling for trait test anxiety and pre-test state anxiety, but state reading motivation was initially higher when reading on a screen, controlling for trait reading motivation. However, this difference diminishes over the course of the test. Implications for using digital media in elementary school test situations are discussed.

Development, Validation, and Evidence of Measurement Invariance of a Shortened Measure of Trait Test Anxiety

Abstract: We develop and validate a short self-report measure of test anxiety, the Trait Test Anxiety Inventory – Short (TTAI-S) following the Kane (2013) validation framework. Data were collected from three independent samples of young adults in the US ( N = 629; Mage = 22.25 years). Evidence was gathered to support three aspects of the validity argument (i.e., scoring, extrapolation, and generalization). Good internal consistency and confirmed structure of a single factor supported scoring inferences. Scalar measurement invariance between different samples (Internet vs. undergraduate students) and demographic subgroups (i.e., gender, race/ethnicity, and parental educational attainment) provided evidence for generalization inferences. Significant associations between the TTAI-S score and theoretically relevant (state test anxiety, performance expectation, and self-confidence in math) and weaker associations with less relevant constructs (enjoyment, motivation, and values in learning math) substantiated extrapolation inferences. Having established measurement invariance, we examined demographic differences and found that students historically underserved or underrepresented in STEM disciplines reported greater test anxiety than their counterparts. These findings support the validity of the TTAI-S, a concise measure that is easy to administer and easy to score. The TTAI-S may be used to further investigate trait test anxiety for a diverse population, particularly factors that may contribute to or mitigate group differences.

Effect of Trait Anxiety on Students’ Academic Achievement

This research inquiry was conducted to probe the consequence of trait anxiety on students’ academic achievement. The research design was descriptive, while the quantitative research approach adopted. The main objectives of the study were to investigate the effects of trait test anxiety on the students’ academic achievement and test out the nature of the effects of trait test anxiety on the students’ academic achievement. 504 students (252 male and 252 female students) of the 10th class were selected as sample through stratified random sampling technique.

Test Anxiety Does Not Predict Exam Performance When Knowledge Is Controlled For: Strong Evidence Against the Interference Hypothesis of Test Anxiety

Do test-anxious students perform worse in exam situations than their knowledge would otherwise allow? We analyzed data from 309 medical students who prepared for a high-stakes exam using a digital learning platform. Using log files from the learning platform, we assessed students’ level of knowledge throughout the exam-preparation phase and their average performance in mock exams that were completed shortly before the final exam. The results showed that test anxiety did not predict exam performance over and above students’ knowledge level as assessed in the mock exams or during the exam-preparation phase. Leveraging additional ambulatory assessment data from the exam-preparation phase, we found that high trait test anxiety predicted smaller gains in knowledge over the exam-preparation phase. Taken together, these findings are incompatible with the hypothesis that test anxiety interferes with the retrieval of previously learned knowledge during the exam.

The relationship between perfectionism and test anxiety of junior high school students: the mediating role of self-efficacy and trait anxiety

ABSTRACT Test anxiety contributed to lower student performance, limited students' learning opportunities, predisposed to negative emotional experiences, and affected physical and mental health. Perfectionism as one of the crucial factors influencing test anxiety has been widely confirmed in the context of individualistic cultural values. This study explores the effects of perfectionism on test anxiety among junior high school students in collectivist cultural values (e.g., China) and the role of self-efficacy and trait anxiety in this context. The results of the study indicated that adaptive perfectionism positively predicted test anxiety, and maladaptive perfectionism was not related to test-taking in a group of middle school students in a Chinese cultural context. If adaptive perfectionism caused an increasein self-efficacy, it weakened trait anxiety and reduced test anxiety, whereas when adaptive perfectionism failedto cause an increase in self-efficacy, it led to higher trait anxiety and test anxiety.

A latent growth curve analysis of state test anxiety in successive days of before and after an examination and in relations to trait test anxiety

State test anxiety (STA) and its temporal course surrounding an important examination are of particular interest. This study investigated ten daily assessments of examination-related STA measured on seven consecutive days before and three days after an obligatory written university examination on N = 172 predominantly female students. The discontinuous second-order latent growth curve model consisted of two STA intercept and slope factors that each corresponded to the phases “before” and “after” the examination. STA increased before the examination, plummeted right after, and further decreased during the following days. Students with high STA levels before the examination experienced high levels after the examination, and students with a steep increase showed a steep decrease. The test anxiety traits worry and emotionality correlated more closely with STA levels before than after the examination, but not with STA change gradients. Implications for further research on the temporal changes of examination-related test anxiety are discussed.

High-caloric or isocaloric maternal high-fat diets differently affect young-adult offspring behavior in anxiety-related tests and offspring sensitivity to acute fluoxetine

Objectiveto evaluate the influence of two maternal high-fat diets with different caloric contents on anxiety-like behavior in young-adult offspring and their sensitivity to acute fluoxetine. Methodsfemales Wistar rats were used and divided according to diet received during gestation and lactation: Control (CTR), high-fat/isocaloric (HI) and high-fat/high-caloric (HH). Offspring were subsequently divided into three subgroups according to acute administration of vehicle or fluoxetine (1 or 10 mg/kg). To assess animals’ anxiety-like behaviors, three tests were used: open field (OF), elevated plus-maze (EPM) and free-exploratory paradigm (FEP). ResultsIn OF, HI and HH showed increased hyperactivity- and anxiety-related behaviors, HI being more hyperactive than HH. In response to fluoxetine, HI offspring decreased number of quadrants entered, decreased number of central entries and spent less time in rearing in peripheral areas, while HH offspring showed less time spent in rearing in the OF peripheral area. In EPM test, HI pups spent more time in closed arms than the HH pups. Fluoxetine decreased number of open arms entries for HI offspring and increased percentage of time spent in central area for HH animals. Maternal diet did not influence FEP test, neither HI nor HH presented a response after fluoxetine acute administration. ConclusionMaternal high-fat diets influence offspring anxiety-like behavior in state-anxiety tests but not in trait-anxiety test. Responsiveness to acute fluoxetine depended on maternal diet, dose and which behavioral tests were being evaluated.

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PRE-COMPETITIVE ANXIETY IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION STUDENTS OF HIGHER AND SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Anxiety is a normal and often healthy emotion. However, when a person regularly feels disproportionate levels of anxiety, it might become a medical disorder. Competitive anxiety is the fear of studying including not having good study habits, fear of failure among others and Fear to compete with others. In the present study there was state trait anxiety test (STAT) used to measure anxiety level of selected subjects. The present study was conducted in Higher and Senior Secondary students. Study will find out significant level of anxiety and its effect on Academic performance. In the present study, 120 questionnaires about different anxiety levels were filled and discussed with the students and it was concluded that there is a significant difference in Anxiety level and have a positive effect on Academic performance of students of the proposed University. The study was concluded with proper recommendations and Suggestions.

Evaluation of state and trait anxiety levels of parents and children before electroencephalography procedures: A prospective study from a tertiary epilepsy center

BackgroundInadequate or misinformation about electroencephalography (EEG) and epilepsy may lead to anxiety in children and their parents. The purpose of this study was to make a simultaneous evaluation of the anxiety levels of children and parents before EEG procedures and to make a brief assessment of their knowledge about EEG. Methods and materialsChildren aged between 8 and 18 years who were referred for EEG tests at Department of Pediatric Neurology, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey and their parents were included in the study, prospectively. Data were collected through Personal Information Forms; an EEG questionnaire form, which questioned the knowledge of the participants about EEG; the Spielberger's State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) to determine anxiety levels of the parents; and the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children-State form (STAIC) to determine the anxiety levels of the children. The following parameters were collected in a database: demographic data about children and parents (sex, age), indication of suspected diagnosis on EEG request (i.e., the referral diagnosis), history of epilepsy, number of EEG recordings, and results of previous EEG recordings. The state and trait anxiety test results of the children were compared between the girls and boys, between age groups, and their parents' results in terms of both trait and state anxiety in terms of EEG, sex, ages, educational levels, and working. ResultsEighty-five children (mean age: 13.25 ± 3.02 years) and 85 parents (mean age: 41.16 ± 7.65 years) were included in the study. The children's mean trait anxiety score was 32.51 ± 8.09, and the mean state anxiety score was 34.97 ± 7.62. Half of the children who had a trait anxiety score of ≤30 points had increased state anxiety levels because they received more than 30 points in the state anxiety evaluation score. No significant differences were found between the boys and girls in terms of the state and trait anxiety scores (p > 0.05). The parents' mean trait anxiety score was 39.16 ± 7.74, and the mean state anxiety score was 42.74 ± 6.22. Forty (47%) parents were found to have trait anxiety, and 52 (61.2%) parents had state anxiety before the EEG. The trait anxiety score of the mothers was statistically significantly higher than that of the fathers (p < 0.01). The investigation of the knowledge level of both parents and children about EEG demonstrated some misunderstandings or points of insufficiency. ConclusionThe present study revealed that both parents and children had insufficient knowledge about EEG, and the procedure caused anxiety for both the parents and children. When EEG procedures are requested, parents and children should be given brief information about EEG and epilepsy. We think that in this way, the knowledge of both parents and children about this issue may be increased and their anxiety may be decreased.

Evaluation of a brief cognitive behavioral group intervention to reduce depersonalization in students with high levels of trait test anxiety: a randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACTBackground and objectives: Students with high levels of test anxiety frequently experience depersonalization during examinations. We investigated whether a brief cognitive behavioral group intervention reduces these symptoms.Design: Randomized controlled trial.Methods: Students with high levels of trait test anxiety and impairing depersonalization symptoms during their last oral examination were randomized. While the intervention group (n = 22) received a group training, a control group (n = 16) underwent an active waiting time protocol. Effects of the intervention on depersonalization severity and its appraisal, attention focus, emotion regulation, anxiety, heart rate, and heart rate variability within the Trier Social Stress Test for groups were examined. A follow-up assessment was conducted after a university oral examination. Registration number: DRKS00010190.Results: Depersonalization and its appraisal significantly changed within the intervention group, but not within the control group. The intervention group reported significantly less self-focused attention and fear and used the coping strategy reappraisal significantly more often. No significant Group × Time interaction was detected regarding heart rate and heart rate variability. Follow-up results give a first indication of the reduction of depersonalization through the intervention in a naturalistic setting.Conclusion: The intervention seems promising for treating depersonalization in students with high levels of trait test anxiety.

Assessing metacognitive beliefs in test anxiety: Psychometric properties of the metacognitions questionnaire, 30 (MCQ-30) among university students

The Metacognitions Questionnaire-30 (MCQ-30) measures maladaptive metacognitive beliefs considered central to the metacognitive model of psychopathology. However, the psychometric properties of the MCQ-30 in test anxiety (TA) among university students are unknown. This study examined the MCQ-30 factor structure and concurrent validity in both trait and state TA. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses support the previously established five-factor structure of the MCQ-30 in both state and trait TA, with factors having good internal consistency. Structural equation modeling of the relationships between MCQ-30 subscales and TA found ‘Negative beliefs about uncontrollability and danger of worry’ to have the strongest association. The MCQ-30 appears a robust measure of metacognitive beliefs in TA and provides a basis for further testing of the validity of the metacognitive model in TA. Extending the reach of metacognitive therapy, which is based upon the metacognitive model, to TA could help to improve both student wellbeing and academic performance.

Can the Testing Effect for General Knowledge Facts Be Influenced by Distraction due to Divided Attention or Experimentally Induced Anxious Mood?

Studies on testing effect have showed that a practice test on study materials leads to better performance in a final test than restudying the materials for the same amount of time. Two experiments were conducted to test how distraction, as triggered by divided attention or experimentally induced anxious mood in the practice phase, could modulate the benefit of testing (vs. restudying) on the learning of interesting and boring general knowledge facts. Two individual difference factors (trait test anxiety and working memory (WM) capacity) were measured. Under divided attention, participants restudied or recalled the missing information in visually presented general knowledge facts, while judging whether auditorily presented items were from a pre-specified category. To experimentally induce anxious mood, we instructed participants to view and interpret negative pictures with anxious music background before and during the practice phase. Immediate and two-day delayed tests were given. Regardless of item type (interesting or boring) or retention interval, the testing effect was not significantly affected by divided (vs. full) attention or anxious (vs. neutral) mood. These results remained unchanged after taking into account the influences of participants’ trait test anxiety and WM capacity. However, when analyses were restricted to the study materials that had been learnt in the divided attention condition while participants accurately responded to the concurrent distracting task, the testing effect was stronger in the divided attention condition than in the full attention condition. Contrary to previous studies (e.g., Tse and Pu, 2012), there was no WM capacity × trait test anxiety interaction in the overall testing effect. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Effects of intermittent fasting on autonomic nervous system, locomotor and exploratory activity, anxiety level, pain threshold and body weight in rats

to evaluate the influence of two maternal high-fat diets with different caloric contents on anxiety-like behavior in young-adult offspring and their sensitivity to acute fluoxetine.females Wistar rats were used and divided according to diet received during gestation and lactation: Control (CTR), high-fat/isocaloric (HI) and high-fat/high-caloric (HH). Offspring were subsequently divided into three subgroups according to acute administration of vehicle or fluoxetine (1 or 10 mg/kg). To assess animals’ anxiety-like behaviors, three tests were used: open field (OF), elevated plus-maze (EPM) and free-exploratory paradigm (FEP).In OF, HI and HH showed increased hyperactivity- and anxiety-related behaviors, HI being more hyperactive than HH. In response to fluoxetine, HI offspring decreased number of quadrants entered, decreased number of central entries and spent less time in rearing in peripheral areas, while HH offspring showed less time spent in rearing in the OF peripheral area. In EPM test, HI pups spent more time in closed arms than the HH pups. Fluoxetine decreased number of open arms entries for HI offspring and increased percentage of time spent in central area for HH animals. Maternal diet did not influence FEP test, neither HI nor HH presented a response after fluoxetine acute administration.Maternal high-fat diets influence offspring anxiety-like behavior in state-anxiety tests but not in trait-anxiety test. Responsiveness to acute fluoxetine depended on maternal diet, dose and which behavioral tests were being evaluated.

A Comparison of Two In-Class Anxiety Reduction Exercises Before a Final Exam

The purpose of this quasi-experiment is to test two different methods for helping students reduce anxiety before an exam. Students in two introductory psychology courses ( N = 111) engaged in either a focused breathing exercise or an expressive writing exercise before their final exam. Results indicated that, compared with previous exam performance, both focused breathing and expressive writing improved performance for students with high levels of trait test anxiety. However, there was no effect on final exam performance for either method for students with low levels of trait test anxiety. Both the exercises appeared to reduce state anxiety for students, although the reduction was greater for students with high levels of trait test anxiety. These findings can be used to assist students who struggle with trait test anxiety.

The dark side of perceived positive regard: When parents’ well-intended motivation strategies increase students’ test anxiety

Parental academic conditional positive regard (PACPR) is a socializing strategy in which parents provide more affection, esteem, and attention than usual when their child studies hard and achieves in school. It is favored and recommended as a positive parenting strategy, whereas empirical findings increasingly document serious psychological costs of this well-intended strategy. PACPR can be conceptualized as an important antecedent of test anxiety. However, no study has tested this assumption yet, and research on antecedents of test anxiety is generally scarce. Based on assumptions from self-determination and control-value theory, we conducted one study with secondary students (trait test anxiety, N = 653, M = 13 years) and one study with university students (state test anxiety and test performance, N = 166, M = 20 years), to examine distal (i.e., perceived PACPR) and proximal antecedents (i.e., contingent self-esteem as value cognition; ability self-concept as control cognition) of students’ test anxiety. In line with our hypotheses, path analyses revealed a positive relation between perceived PACPR and test anxiety, and that contingent self-esteem mediated this relation. Ability self-concept showed inverse relations with test anxiety, which, in turn, predicted poorer test performance in Study 2. Unexpectedly, we found no interactive effect of contingent self-esteem and ability self-concept. Our results extend prior research on psychological costs of PACPR to the field of achievement emotions, and suggest that the detrimental effects of perceived PACPR on test anxiety can be generalized onto students with high and low ability self-concept, respectively. Possible reasons of our findings, and practical implications, are discussed.

Effect of Music Therapy on Pain Perception, Anxiety, and Opioid Use During Dressing Change Among Patients With Burns in India: A Quasi-experimental, Cross-over Pilot Study

This study was conducted to assess the effect of music therapy on pain, anxiety, opioid use, and hemodynamic variables during burn dressing change. Patients in a tertiary care burn unit who were >10 years old, conscious, able to respond, and oriented to time, place, and person participated in a 2-month, quasi-experimental, cross-over pilot study. Each served as his/her own control. Dressings were changed every other day alternating between the control (standard pain management) and experimental (control plus patient-selected music) intervention. Pain was assessed using a numerical rating scale, anxiety was scored using the State Trait Anxiety Test (higher scores indicated more pain and anxiety), and hemodynamic parameters and analgesics were recorded. Wilcoxon Test and chi-squared tests were utilized for statistical analysis. Median pain scores (5, interquartile range [IQR] IQR: 3-7; and 6, IQR: 5-8) and median anxiety scores (12, IQR: 8-17; and 14, IQR: 10-19) were significantly lower during the experimental than during the standard dressing change, respectively (P <.001), and opioids were used significantly less frequently during the experimental change (P = .002). Music therapy helps reduce anxiety, pain, and opioid use during burn dressing change.

Gender Difference on Anxiety, Adjustment, Emotional Intelligence, Study Habit and Attitude among Adolescents

The major purpose of this study is to find out anxiety, adjustment, emotional intelligence, study habits and attitude difference between adolescent boys and girls (14-16years). For this purpose data was collected from 60 high school students; 30 boys and 30 girls. The tools used were State and Trait Anxiety Test (STAT), Academic Anxiety Scale, Global Adjustment Scale, Emotional Intelligence Scale, and Test of Study Habits and Attitudes (TSHA). The results indicate that there is no significant mean difference in general anxiety and academic anxiety between boys and girls. However there are significant gender difference in certain dimensions of Emotional Intelligence like empathy, self-motivation, self-development, Study Habits, attitude, and certain dimensions of adjustment.

Does test anxiety increase as the exam draws near? – Students' state test anxiety recorded over the course of one semester

State test anxiety (STA) assumingly increases as an exam draws near. However, only few studies (with short time intervals or just two measurement points) seem to confirm this assumption; especially the longer-term STA-course remains unexamined. The present study investigated N=192 college students' STA over the course of one semester with four measurement points. STA-assessments at the first, third and fourth measurement point referred to the final obligatory exam, the second to an unmarked mock exam. Regarding the final exam, the students chose from two dates two months apart. A 2 (early vs. late exam date)×4 (measurement points T1–T4) mixed ANOVA revealed a significant main effect of the exam date, indicating higher STA for students choosing the early exam, and a significant main effect for the measurement points. Planned contrasts indicated an overall STA-increase with a peak directly before the exam and an expected STA-drop at T2 (referring to the mock exam). Criterion validity was evidenced by substantial convergent correlations between STA and trait test anxiety (worry, emotionality). The psychological and educational relevance of the results is discussed.

Does trait test anxiety compromise the measurement fairness of high-stakes scholastic achievement tests?

Based on meta-analytic evidence of a moderate negative correlation between trait test anxiety and test performance some researchers hypothesized that trait test anxiety may induce measurement bias. Two competing models have been advanced to account for the test anxiety–test performance relationship: the deficit hypothesis and the interference hypothesis. The interference hypothesis predicts that trait test anxiety induces measurement bias in items of intermediate difficulty, while the deficit hypothesis claims that test anxiety has no causal effect on test performance. In the present study we tested these competing predictions in a high-stakes setting by means of structural equation modeling. Test-takers (N=1768) solved a knowledge test as part of an admission test and filled a questionnaire measuring trait worry, trait task-irrelevant thinking and trait emotionality. In line with the deficit hypothesis the present results indicated that neither of the three trait test anxiety components induced measurement bias.