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Test Anxiety in Girls and Boys: A Clinical—Developmental Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2014

Margaret K. Warren ,
Thomas H. Ollendick  and
Neville J. King
Margaret K. Warren
Affiliation:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute andState University, Virginia
Thomas H. Ollendick*
Affiliation:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute andState University, Virginia
Neville J. King
Affiliation:
Monash University
*
Child Study Center, Department of Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute andState University, Blacksburg VA 24060, USA
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Abstract

A large sample of children and adolescents were screened for test anxiety using the Test Attitude Inventory (Spielberger, 1980). Subjects with low and high test anxiety were then compared on self-report measures of trait anxiety, depression, and fear and then asked to report their thoughts and level of distress following an imagined test. Academic grades and performance on standardised achievement and ability tests were also obtained. High test-anxious children and adolescents reported higher levels of trait anxiety, depression, and fear as well as greater distress and cognitive interference during the imagined test. They also obtained lower grades and performed more poorly on the standardised measures. Age effects moderated these findings. Discussion focuses on the clinical and developmental implications of the findings.

Type
Research Article
Information
Behaviour Change , Volume 13 , Issue 3: Special Issue — Part I: Internalising Disorders of Children and Adolescents , September 1996 , pp. 157 - 170
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 1996

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References

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