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A cross-sectional study was conducted on 411 female students (age group of 19-24 years) in second to sixth year of medical education at Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia to assess test anxiety and psychological distress among students during examinations and with the duration of the course. The study employed questionnaires from 'Westside Test A...
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Background
Lung cancer is very common in China. The low cure rate, limited overall survival, and continuous therapies lead the patients to experience considerable psychological distress. Traditional Chinese medicine therapy is one unique treatment method in China. Nevertheless, most patients in the existing studies on anxiety and depression were tr...
Citations
... For instance, according to a study conducted in the United States of America (USA), 55% of nursing students have experienced TA (9). A cohort study conducted at Arab Umm Al-Qura University showed that about 53.04% of medical students developed TA (10). Another study conducted in Malaysia among medical students revealed that 52% experienced TA (11). ...
... The Cronbach alpha was an alpha of 0.78, with a split-half unwavering quality of 0.77 in a Nigerian sample (21). Oslo social support scale: It has a 3-item questionnaire commonly used to assess social support, and it was used in several studies, with the sum score scale ranging from 3-14, which is three broad categories: poor support (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8), moderate support (9)(10)(11), and strong support (12-14) (22). ...
Background
Test anxiety is a particular type of anxiety that is marked by physical, cognitive, and behavioural symptoms when taking and performing tests. It is defined as “severe stress” before, during, and after exams and other assessments. Test anxiety could cause poor academic performance and increase dropout rates. This study aimed to determine the levels of test anxiety and its determinants among health sciences students at Mattu University.
Methods
An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 421 selected students from June 1 to June 30, 2021. The study utilized the Westside Test Anxiety, the Oslo Social Support Scale, the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, and the Kessler Scale to assess test anxiety, social support, self-esteem, and psychological distress, respectively. The collected data were entered into EpiData version 3.1 and then exported to STATA version 14.0 for analysis. A linear regression model was used to determine factors associated with test anxiety. The multiple regression assumptions were checked for each variable. Statistically significant effects were assumed for a p-value of less than 0.05 at a 95% confidence interval in the multiple linear regression analysis.
Results
A total of 416 (99%) participants were completed out of the 420 questionnaires administered. The mean score of test anxiety among participants was 25.3 (SD: ±5.51). Tobacco use (β: 1.028; 95% CI: 0.709–1.347), khat chewing (β: 0.115; 95% CI: 0.038–0.192), self-esteem (β: −0.049; 95% CI: −0.062–(−0.036)), psychological distress (β: 0.022; 95% CI: 0.017–0.027), and physical activity (β: -0.162; 95% CI: −0.224–(−0.099)) were shown to have a significant association with test anxiety.
Conclusion
Test anxiety was common in the study area. Current substance use (tobacco use and khat chewing) and psychological distress were discovered to be factors that exacerbated test anxiety, whereas self-esteem and physical activity were discovered to be factors that alleviated test anxiety. Therefore, students and stakeholders need to work to discourage those factors that increase test anxiety while promoting factors that alleviate it.
... This finding is consistent with studies from Saudi Arabia, which have identified a significant and positive correlation between psychological distress and test anxiety. 18,19 ...
Background: The phenomenon of severe anxiety and self-doubt experienced by individuals prior to taking exams or assessments can significantly impair their performance, potentially leading to poor outcomes. Research on the prevalence and contributing factors of assessment-related anxiety among medical students in Pakistan is scarce. Objective: The aim of this study was to ascertain the prevalence of exam-related anxiety among medical students and identify its associated factors. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Settings: Allama Iqbal Medical College/ Jinnah Hospital Lahore Pakistan. Duration: Six months from 09-12-2022 to 09- 06-2023. Methods: After approval of the study proposal and attaining the informed consent of the medical students, they were explained the purpose of study. After inclusion, all the students were asked questions as per PHCC test anxiety questionnaire to determine presence as well as healthy or unhealthy nature of stress. All these students with anxiety were assessed for factors related to this stress including female gender, 1st year of medical college, oral exam, poor time management skills and pre-existing psychological distress. All data was collected in a self- made pro forma. Results: Total of 135 students, mean age was 23.30±2.48 years. Frequency of anxiety was 51.1% (n=69). Frequency of female gender factors in students with anxiety versus without anxiety was 52.3%% (n=56) versus 47.7% (n=51), 1st year in medical college 87.9% (n=58) versus 12.1% (n=8), oral exam 79.7% (n=59) versus 20.3% (n=15), poor time management skills 95.6% (n=43) versus 4.4% (n=2) and pre-existing psychological distress was 92.3% (n=24) versus 7.7% (n=2). Conclusion: The results indicate that a considerable proportion of medical students experience significant exam anxiety, with 51.1% affected. The study further revealed a notable correlation between anxiety and factors such as being in the first year of medical college, facing oral exams, inadequate time management skills, and pre-existing psychological distress. Given its prevalence, the issue of problematic exam anxiety among medical students warrants increased attention.
... Prior to the pandemic, a number of studies had been carried out on anxiety related to face-to-face exams, for example, on medical students in Arabia (Aziz & Serafi, 2017;Khoshhal et al., 2017), Germany (Cipra & Muller-Hilke, 2019), India (Patil & Aithala, 2017), Pakistan (Jadoon et al., 2010), Serbia (Latas et al., 2010) and Tanzania (Tsegay et al., 2019); students of medicine and other disciplines in Colombia (Arias et al., 2015); nursing students in the USA (Moore, 2013) and Iran (Darabi et al., 2019): pharmacy students in Malaysia (Rajiah et al., 2014), and pre-university students in Turkey (Kavakci et al., 2014). These studies have registered levels of prevalence of problematic anxiety ranging from 28% (Jadoon et al., 2010), to 48% (Kavakci et al., 2014), to 66% (Darabi et al., 2019). ...
Resumen. La vulnerabilidad en línea se define como la exposición a experiencias que ponen en perjuicio el bien-estar psicológico y físico de las personas. Esto, como resultado de la participación en actividades en línea, puede provocar una mengua en la valía personal y propiciar la aparición de afecciones emocionales. El propósito del presente estudio fue proponer un modelo explicativo para la vulnerabilidad en línea en universitarios peruanos. Este estudio sigue un diseño explicativo con variables observables, en el cual participaron 219 universitarios pe-ruanos elegidos intencionalmente, en su mayoría mujeres (62.6%), cuyas edades oscilaban entre los 17 y 28 años; todos cursaban estudios universitarios en una universidad privada de Lima Metropolitana. Se identificó que el FoMO, la adicción a Facebook y la soledad tienen efectos directos sobre la vulnerabilidad en línea, mientras que la edad presentó efectos indirectos sobre esta (R2 = .486, Δβ = 0.01). Estos hallazgos corroboran los presupuestos teóricos que sostienen que estos comportamientos inadecuados vinculados con la tecnología responden a una sa-tisfacción inadecuada de las necesidades psicológicas básicas de competencia, autonomía y pertenencia.
... Prior to the pandemic, a number of studies had been carried out on anxiety related to face-to-face exams, for example, on medical students in Arabia (Aziz & Serafi, 2017;Khoshhal et al., 2017), Germany (Cipra & Muller-Hilke, 2019), India (Patil & Aithala, 2017), Pakistan (Jadoon et al., 2010), Serbia (Latas et al., 2010) and Tanzania (Tsegay et al., 2019); students of medicine and other disciplines in Colombia (Arias et al., 2015); nursing students in the USA (Moore, 2013) and Iran (Darabi et al., 2019): pharmacy students in Malaysia (Rajiah et al., 2014), and pre-university students in Turkey (Kavakci et al., 2014). These studies have registered levels of prevalence of problematic anxiety ranging from 28% (Jadoon et al., 2010), to 48% (Kavakci et al., 2014), to 66% (Darabi et al., 2019). ...
Exams are a common part of university studies, and they often generate a significant amount of anxiety, which can increase when they are taken remotely and online. The aim of this multi-centric, cross sectional study was to provide additional knowledge on this subject. The sample consisted of 1,024 Spanish university students with a mean age of 20.34 (SD: 1.78), 66.4% of them women. They were recruited from seven different universities and six areas of study. The instruments applied were the Exams Anxiety Self-Assessment Questionnaire and the Anxiety subscale of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). For the purposes of data analysis, frequency and descriptive statistics were used. The results showed moderate to high rates of anxiety related to online and remote exams in 50.1% of the sample for generalized symptoms, levels not explicable by anxiety related to the person and their context, which was 32.9%. Anxiety is greater among women and among students in the disciplines of economics, business and law, followed by arts and humanities and health sciences. Based on the results, interventions to reduce anxiety related to online and remote examination techniques are recommended.
... These negative effects eventually jeopardise optimal medical care and impact patient health negatively [14,15]. While medical students have identified a number of stressors, research indicates that examinations are the most frequently reported sources of stress [14,[16][17][18][19][20][21]. As a result, there is a growing body of research on how to improve the mental health of medical students and promote what is currently known as resilience. ...
Background:
Burnout and depression among health professions education (HPE) students continue to rise, leading to unwanted effects that ultimately jeopardise optimal medical care and patient health. Promoting the resilience of medical students is one solution to this issue. Several interventions have been implemented to foster resilience, but they focus on aspects other than the primary cause: the assessment system. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework to promote resilience in assessment planning and practice.
Methods:
We followed the guidelines suggested by Whetten for constructing a theoretical model for framework development. There were four phases in the model development. In the first phase, different literature review methods were used, and additional students' perspectives were collected through focus group discussions. Then, using the data, we constructed the theoretical model in the second phase. In the third phase, we validated the newly developed model and its related guidelines. Finally, we performed response process validation of the model with a group of medical teachers.
Results:
The developed systematic assessment resilience framework (SAR) promotes four constructs: self-control, management, engagement, and growth, through five phases of assessment: assessment experience, assessment direction, assessment preparation, examiner focus, and student reflection. Each phase contains a number of practical guidelines to promote resilience. We rigorously triangulated each approach with its theoretical foundations and evaluated it on the basis of its content and process. The model showed high levels of content and face validity.
Conclusions:
The SAR model offers a novel guideline for fostering resilience through assessment planning and practice. It includes a number of attainable and practical guidelines for enhancing resilience. In addition, it opens a new horizon for HPE students' future use of this framework in the new normal condition (post COVID 19).
... According to Alamri and Nazir (2022), the prevalence of test anxiety is common among medical learners, particularly students who attain low grades. Another study demonstrated that female students exhibit less resilience to handle difficulties during the testing situation as compared to male students (Aziz & Serafi, 2017). In addition, Rafada and Madini (2017) signified that students show higher anxiousness during their English-speaking assessments. ...
Keeping in view a basic necessity of the time, integrating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in teaching–learning practices has become an integral part of higher education. There are many different disciplines involved in English as a foreign language (EFL) learning. Several forms of interactive platforms have been applied to the EFL learning environments to enhance students’ interaction and engagement and reduce test anxiety. Likewise, this quasi-experimental study was designed to investigate the role of ClassPoint tool integrated activities in reducing test anxiety of undergraduate female EFL learners in Saudi Arabia. The intervention, i.e., the ClassPoint tool integrated instruction for the experimental group, lasted for around a month, whereas the students from the controlled group received non-ClassPoint integrated instructions. Subsequently, the data from both groups was analyzed statistically via a T test. Based on the analysis, the use of ClassPoint tool activities showed significant impact on the test anxiety reduction of EFL learners compared to the non-ClassPoint traditional instruction. Thereby, the study suggests using the ClassPoint tool at all educational levels in all modes of learning to keep learners engaged and help students reduce their fear of exams.
... Although test anxiety (TA) is a subset of the general anxiety and stress phenomena in higher education, it is the major cause of stress in university life (Soares and Woods 2020). While several sources of stress have been associated with academic life, studies showed that stress due to examinations is the most frequently reported (Aziz and Serafi 2017;Boparai et al. 2013;Frajerman et al. 2019;Quek et al. 2019;Yusoff 2011;Yusoff et al. 2010;Yusoff et al. 2011). Gerwing et al. (2015) found that the prevalence of TA among university students was 38.5%, while in health professions education (HPE), it was 50% (Macauley et al. 2018). ...
Test anxiety (TA) affects students in health professions education (HPE) academic performance and well-being, and has long-term consequences that last beyond graduation, jeopardizing patients' access to the best possible health care. This study aimed to investigate and categorize the factors that influence TA among HPE students and provide evidence-based foundation for future action. We conducted a scoping study using the following six electronic databases. Only 74 articles out of 995 were selected. Each study's identified factors were classified as increasing or decreasing TA. Seven themes emerged from the factors. Assessment system, study and learning skills, psychology/cognition, personal characteristics, and supporting and relationship were all found to be positively and negatively associated with TA. Curriculum overload increased TA, while interventional procedures decreased TA. This scoping review identified factors that contribute to test anxiety either by increasing or by decreasing it. The identified factors were further categorized into several themes. The themes that emerged could be used by different levels of curriculum management in HPE schools to minimize TA.
... Latas et al. also reported a moderate level of test anxiety among medical students with female students demonstrating significantly higher test anxiety than male students in Belgrade, Serbia [2]. The analysis of data by Aziz and Serafi revealed that more than of half of female medical students had text anxiety in Makkah, Saudi Arabia [15]. Another study in the country showed test anxiety in 65% of medical students with a predilection for female students [5]. ...
... An investigation of test anxiety and its related demographic variables (gender, types of students, class year, parental education, and family income) and GPA in health professions students is of particular importance given its high prevalence and adverse effects on academic performance [9,15,17]. The study of the relationship of demographic and academic factors with test anxiety will provide an indication of student groups who are at increased risk of text anxiety. ...
... Another study also reported high prevalence (47.0%) of depressive symptoms in health professions students in the country [23]. Many reasons have been cited in the literature for increased psychological symptoms among medical students, which include financial problems, parental expectations, excessive workload, language difficulties, lack of time, lack of relaxation, ineffective teaching techniques, and poor testing/examination environments [15,23]. Aziz and Serafi reported test anxiety in 53.04% and psychological distress in 82.50% of medical students in Saudi Arabia and showed a significant positive correlation between test anxiety and psychological distress [15]. ...
The study aimed to evaluate test anxiety and its relationship with demographic factors among undergraduate medical, dental, and pharmacy students in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The health professions students from Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia participated in this cross-sectional study. Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) by Spielberger was used to evaluate test anxiety and the score on the scale ranges from 20 to 80. Of the total 1098 participants, 878 returned completed questionnaires and the response rate of the study was 79.9%. In response to the items of TAI, 33% of participants reported that they almost always “wished examinations did not bother so much”. The mean TAI score of the sample was 43.17 (SD = 10.58). There were statistically significant differences in the mean scores of TAI among dental (44.15 ± 0.48), medical (41.64 ± 1.31), and pharmacy (43.44 ± 9.29) students (p = 0.003). The students with high grade point average (GPA) (mean TAI = 41.91 ± 10.43) demonstrated significantly lower test anxiety than those with low GPA (mean TAI = 44.05 ± 10.67) (p = 0.006). Academic grade in the previous year (GPA) remained a statistically significant factor associated with test anxiety (B = −2.83, p = 0.003) in multivariate analysis. This study showed that test anxiety was common among health professions students, and dental students and students with low GPA demonstrated high test anxiety. Students with high test anxiety should be the target of preventive strategies.
... high achievers versus low achievers. [85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96] The magnitude of test anxiety is meaningfully related to students' perceptions and behaviors towards study skills. [25] The present study did not compare high versus low anxiety participants. ...
Background: Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic situation many factors around us have changed. Preliminary surveys and reports have indicated this unprecedented situation is putting high academic demands and extraordinary pressure on the students. The newly introduced open book pattern of online examination which was conducted very recently definitely was a different experience for all the students as well as teachers and it also had its own pros and cons. Given the recency of this pandemic situation and pervasive use of traditional methods of closed book examination, scientific studies are lacking in this context. Methodology: It was a cross-sectional survey conducted in physiotherapy students using an online questionnaire. Through this qualitative analysis we assessed the overall impact of online examination with an aim to determine the prevalence of stress and its determinants. In addition, students' experience with respect to different phases of online examination (preparing, responding and learning) was investigated. Results & Conclusion: The prevalence of academic stress was very high (94.4%) among undergraduate physiotherapy students (n=642) in the context of online exams conducted in the pandemic crisis situation. This alarmingly high proportion of students experiencing stress warrants urgent and special attention with effective interventions. While examination related factors are identified as major stressors, many psychosocial factors are also found to exert a considerable influence on exam experience and are implicated to affect the mental health and academics of the students. Open book exam was advantageous to the students in terms of reducing stress while mixed results were found in terms of learning and study skills.
... Arbabisarjou, Zare, Shahrakipour & Ghoreishinia (2016) state that the average level of test anxiety can be beneficial and a catalytic and effective factor, while the excessive level of test anxiety can be lead to a lack of focus and low academic performance. Causes of test anxiety are lack of time management, lack of study skills, low GPA, psychological distress, fear of failure, poor selfesteem, poor self-confidence, weak psychosocial support, and other factors (Aziz & Serafi, 2017;Cipra & Müller-Hilke, 2019). ...
