Testing times: the association of intolerance of uncertainty and metacognitive beliefs to test anxiety in college students

Differences in Test Anxiety Scores Among Baccalaureate Nursing Students and Nonnursing Students

BACKGROUND

Test-taking is a prominent cause of anxiety for nursing students. Test anxiety may interfere with academic performance, program completion, and successful transition to practice. Prior research suggests that nursing students are more test-anxious than other students, yet this concept is not well studied.

PURPOSE

This study examined differences between test anxiety in nursing and nonnursing students while comparing current trends related to academic level and gender.

METHODS

Using a cross-sectional design, participants completed the Test Anxiety Inventory as a measure of perceived test anxiety.

RESULTS

Minimal differences in scores based on major and academic level were found. Differences based on gender were noted with females reporting higher levels of test anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings may help nurse educators better understand test anxiety and guide the implementation of supportive strategies to improve learning outcomes.

The relationship between COVID-19 stress and test anxiety in art students: the chain mediating roles of intolerance of uncertainty and sleep quality

BACKGROUND

The global spread of COVID-19 has brought immense physiological and psychological distress to students, such as test anxiety and poor sleep quality. This study aims to explore the relationship between COVID-19 stress and test anxiety and the mediating roles of intolerance of uncertainty and sleep quality between them.

METHODS

A study was conducted in China during the late stage of the pandemic. A total of 936 Chinese art students (age M = 18.51, SD = 2.11, 46.6% female) completed the Coronavirus Stress Measure (CSM), the 12-item Intolerance of Uncertainty (IUS-12), the Brief Version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (B-PSQI), and the Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI). A chain mediation model analysis was conducted to examine the mediating effects of intolerance of uncertainty and sleep quality on the association with COVID-19 stress and test anxiety.

RESULTS

COVID-19 stress was positively associated with test anxiety (β = 0.50, p < 0.001). The intolerance of uncertainty and sleep quality partially and serially mediated the relationship between COVID-19 stress and test anxiety (β = 0.01, 95% CI = 0.01 to 0.02).

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that art students' intolerance of uncertainty and sleep quality partially and serially mediate the relation between COVID-19 stress and test anxiety. The results have significant implications for the intervention and prevention of test anxiety, providing additional evidence for the relationship between COVID-19 stress and test anxiety.