Test anxiety prevalance and related variables in the students who are going to take the university entrance examination

Kavakçı, Önder; Sönmezer, Murat; Kartal, Aysegul; Dikici, Ayfer; Kuğu, Nesim

doi:10.5350/dajpn2014270403

“…The findings of this study demonstrated that more than half of the medical students had problematic test anxiety (52.30%). This prevalence is consistent with the reported magnitude of test anxiety from Saudi Arabia (53%) (27), the USA (55%) (28), and Turkey(48%) (29).…”

Section: Main Findingssupporting

confidence: 89%

Prevalence and determinants of test anxiety among medical students in Addis Ababa Ethiopia

Girmay

¹

,

Shumet

²

,

Damene

³

et al. 2019

Preprint

0

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Background Worldwide, problematic test anxiety is a common health problem among medical students. The magnitude of problematic test anxiety ranges from 25 to 40% in undergraduate medical students and has a detrimental effect on academic achievement and success of students. However, data on the prevalence of test anxiety among medical students is limited. Thus, the study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of test anxiety among medical students. Methods In this cross-sectional study, a stratified random sampling technique was used to select the participants. The level of test anxiety was determined by the Westside Test Anxiety Inventory (WTAI). We utilized logistic regression to explore the association between test anxiety and the potential sociodemographic/student-related characteristics among medical students. Results The study included 423 medical students. Our study resulted the prevalence of problematic test anxiety among medical students to be 52.30% (95% CI 47.40-57.30). The prevalence of test anxiety was remarkably higher in women (79.75%) than in men (33.62%) students. Female sex [AOR=3.25, 95% CI: (1.54, 6.89)], having low grade [AOR=0.11,95% CI: (0.044,0.288)], being first year [AOR=10.55,95% CI: (1.4,76.7)], excessive course load [AOR=6.128,95% CI: (2.675,14.039)], and taking oral examination [AOR=2.89,95% CI: (1.42,5.84)] were determined as some of the predicting factors of test anxiety among medical students. Additionally, lack of systemic study plan [AOR=2.4,95% CI: (1.25,4.59)], poor social support [AOR=3.6,95% CI: (1.56,8.29)], moderate social support [AOR=3.39,95% CI: (1.56,7.4)], psychologically distressed [AOR=2.68,95% CI: (1.37,5.27)] independently predicts test anxiety among medical students. Conclusion Findings suggest that a substantial percentage of medical students had problematic test anxiety in Ethiopia (52.30%). This study also showed a significant association between test anxiety and female sex, having poor grade point average, being the first year, excessive course load, oral examination, lack of study plan, poor social support, moderate social support, and having psychological distress. Problematic test anxiety, which is found to be common among medical students, deserves more attention.

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“…This prevalence is consistent with the reported magnitude of test anxiety from Saudi Arabia (53%) (27), the USA (55%) (28), and Turkey(48%) (29).…”

Section: Main Findingssupporting

confidence: 89%

Prevalence and determinants of test anxiety among medical students in Addis Ababa Ethiopia

Girmay

¹

,

Shumet

²

,

Damene

³

et al. 2019

Preprint

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Worldwide, problematic test anxiety is a common health problem among medical students. The magnitude of problematic test anxiety ranges from 25 to 40% in undergraduate medical students and has a detrimental effect on academic achievement and success of students. However, data on the prevalence of test anxiety among medical students is limited. Thus, the study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of test anxiety among medical students. Methods In this cross-sectional study, a stratified random sampling technique was used to select the participants. The level of test anxiety was determined by the Westside Test Anxiety Inventory (WTAI). We utilized logistic regression to explore the association between test anxiety and the potential sociodemographic/student-related characteristics among medical students. Results The study included 423 medical students. Our study resulted the prevalence of problematic test anxiety among medical students to be 52.30% (95% CI 47.40-57.30). The prevalence of test anxiety was remarkably higher in women (79.75%) than in men (33.62%) students. Female sex [AOR=3.25, 95% CI: (1.54, 6.89)], having low grade [AOR=0.11,95% CI: (0.044,0.288)], being first year [AOR=10.55,95% CI: (1.4,76.7)], excessive course load [AOR=6.128,95% CI: (2.675,14.039)], and taking oral examination [AOR=2.89,95% CI: (1.42,5.84)] were determined as some of the predicting factors of test anxiety among medical students. Additionally, lack of systemic study plan [AOR=2.4,95% CI: (1.25,4.59)], poor social support [AOR=3.6,95% CI: (1.56,8.29)], moderate social support [AOR=3.39,95% CI: (1.56,7.4)], psychologically distressed [AOR=2.68,95% CI: (1.37,5.27)] independently predicts test anxiety among medical students. Conclusion Findings suggest that a substantial percentage of medical students had problematic test anxiety in Ethiopia (52.30%). This study also showed a significant association between test anxiety and female sex, having poor grade point average, being the first year, excessive course load, oral examination, lack of study plan, poor social support, moderate social support, and having psychological distress. Problematic test anxiety, which is found to be common among medical students, deserves more attention.

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“…It was seen that when the topic of the university entrance exam came up, the participants frequently express their feelings of fear, discomfort, anxiety, despair, alarm and panic, all of which are emotional dimensions of anxiety (Türe et al, 2006;Kavakcı et al, 2014). As a matter of fact, the presence of an exam itself is a source of anxiety (Şad & Şahiner, 2016).…”

Section: Conclusion and Suggestionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

University Entrance Exams from the Perspective of Senior High School Students

Çirak¹

2016

Journal of Education and Training Studies

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The aim of this study was to explore senior high school students" feelings and thoughts about the university entrance exam. A total of 23 senior high school students, 14 girls and 8 boys between the ages of 17 and 18, participated in this qualitative study. Research data were collected between February and March 2015 through face to face semi-structured interviews. Three themes were identified as a result of the analysis: "anxiety", "family expectations and responsibilities", and "the door to the future". When participants were asked to think about the university entrance exam, they stated that they experienced fear, despair, concern, helplessness and panic, which are all emotional dimensions of anxiety. Furthermore, some participants perceived the exams as an all-or-nothing issue and felt that the expectations of their families from them create a serious burden on their shoulders. Participants associated university entrance exams with living creatures, objects or characters such as "a dog", "a cactus" or "a bug", to name a few. And finally, participants regarded the exam as a "door" that opens to their future, conceiving it as an opportunity.

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Test anxiety prevalance and related variables in the students who are going to take the university entrance examination

Cited by 42 publications

References 27 publications

Prevalence and determinants of test anxiety among medical students in Addis Ababa Ethiopia

Prevalence and determinants of test anxiety among medical students in Addis Ababa Ethiopia

Prevalence and determinants of test anxiety among medical students in Addis Ababa Ethiopia

University Entrance Exams from the Perspective of Senior High School Students

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