The influence of personality factors, value appraisals, and control appraisals on cognitive test anxiety

The High Five Model as a predictor of academic performance over conventional psychological predictors in university students

Introduction

The High Five Model (HFM) categorizes five positive human characteristics-erudition, peace, joviality, honesty, and tenacity-utilizing an inductive psycholexic approach. This study examines the predictive power of HFM on academic performance among university students, hypothesizing that it surpasses conventional predictors such as academic motivation, exam anxiety, and academic procrastination.

Methods

A non-experimental cross-sectional correlational design was implemented using a non-probabilistic convenience sample of 1,007 Ecuadorian university students (403 females). Self-reported measures of the "high factors," academic motivation, exam anxiety, and academic procrastination were collected. Linear regression analysis was utilized to evaluate the predictive capacity of the HFM on academic performance.

Results

The analysis revealed that the high factors of the HFM significantly predict academic performance, demonstrating a stronger predictive ability than traditional psychological predictors.

Discussion

The findings suggest that incorporating the HFM into academic settings could enhance understanding and prediction of student performance. This could potentially inform targeted interventions that leverage these high factors, thereby fostering better academic outcomes. Further research could explore the integration of the HFM with other educational strategies and its applicability across diverse educational contexts.

Medication administration competency for clinical preparedness: Comparing testing modalities and test anxiety in undergraduate nursing students

BACKGROUND

Adverse drug events, which occur at various stages of the medication preparation and administration process, cause over half a million injuries or deaths yearly. Upon graduation, prelicensure nursing students lack the skill and competency required for safe medication administration. Therefore, it is essential to ascertain their medication administration proficiency throughout their curriculum prior to participation in clinical experiences. Historically, this has been a deeply embedded process of high-stakes testing. Aligned is cognitive test anxiety which can severely limit a student's performance. Thus, nursing student competency and control appraisal in medication administration can be linked to the Control Value Theory framework.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of the research was to determine whether an e-simulated high-stakes medication administration test was associated with less anxiety than a standard high-stakes medication math assessment within and between two nursing tracks over three semesters to capture sequencing of medical-surgical clinical courses.

DESIGN

The prospective, quantitative, longitudinal study received Institutional Review Board approval.

PARTICIPANTS/SETTING

Students were recruited from a traditional BSN track and an online LPN-to-BSN track per course level over three semesters.

METHODS

Participants completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory prior to their course level high-stakes assessment modality.

RESULTS

For both tracks, testing anxiety remained a factor with no significant difference in the anxiety level between assessment modalities. There was a trend for anxiety scores to slightly decrease over time with each testing modality, but results were non-significant. There was a trend for traditional BSN students (n = 435) to have slightly lower anxiety scores than the LPN-to-BSN (n = 246) students.

CONCLUSIONS

Researchers must continue investigating teaching, learning, and testing modalities in medication calculation/administration that maintain rigor, enhance student self-efficacy, and provide accurate assessment. These can be aligned with research regarding study skills training and cognitive-behavioral interventions to help mitigate the challenge of cognitive test anxiety.

Validation study for the Academic Maladjustment Questionnaire on a Romanian sample

Introduction

The problem of academic dropout in the first year of studies represents an important issue for higher education, in that it accounts for an important indicator of quality but also for the negative consequences it produces on individual, institutional and social level. The main aim of the study is to validate and evaluate a robust measure of overall academic maladjustment.

Method

The participants were 809 first-year students from various Romanian universities.

Results

The results showed a reliable version of the instrument with a factorial structure that did not deviate significantly from the authors' initial model. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis revealed a unified score including six dimensions, procrastination, dishonesty - unethical behavior, test anxiety, machiavellian attitude, neuroticism, and somatization. Our results confirmed that besides academic achievement, personal factors are important indicators of adjustment, showing that personal resources management, emotional and behavioral strategies are components of adjustment. Our study revealed a medium and positive correlation between overall maladjustment and academic dropout intention, procrastination seemed to be the most relevant predictor of dropout intention.

Discussion

Academic adjustment acts as a safeguard against dropping out, and it is crucial to acknowledge that most students enter college with the intention of completing their studies.