Exam Anxiety Among Students: A Gender-Based Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29062/jihapenmas.v2i2.1471Keywords:
Exam Anxiety, Gender, Undergraduates, Exam UnderstandingAbstract
Exam anxiety is characterized by intense nervousness, a profound level of fear that hinders the effective application of previously acquired knowledge during a test situation, ultimately leading to a decline in cognitive performance and overall subjective well-being. This study examined the prevalence and gender-based differences in exam anxiety among undergraduate students, utilizing a descriptive design and convenient sampling. Data were collected through an online survey using the Test Anxiety Questionnaire developed by Nist and Diehl. The finding revealed noteworthy gender differences, with females reporting higher levels of both healthy and unhealthy exam anxiety compared to males. Males exhibited a greater proportion of extremely low anxiety levels. The chi-square test of independence confirmed a statistically significant relationship between gender and anxiety level (p< 0.05), emphasizing gender as a crucial determinant. These outcomes highlight the gender-sensitive mental health interventions tailored to address specific stressors and coping mechanisms, as well as advocating for open discussion.
Downloads
References
Borod, J. C. (Ed.). (2000). The neuropsychology of emotion. Oxford University Press.
Connell, R. W. (2005). Masculinities (2nd ed.). Polity Press.
Freire, C., Ferradás, M. d. M., Regueiro, B., Rodríguez, S., Valle, A., & Núñez, J. C. (2020). Coping strategies and self-efficacy in university students: A person-centered approach. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 841. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00841
Hashmat, S., Hashmat, M., Amanullah, F., & Aziz, S. (2004). Factors causing exam anxiety in medical students. Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 58(4). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51428642_Factors_causing_exam_anxiety_in_medical_students
Hembree, R. (1988). Correlates, Causes, Effects, and Treatment of Test Anxiety. Review of Educational Research, 58(1), 47-77. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543058001047
Herman, J. (1992). Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of violence--from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror. Basic Books; Reprint edition (May 30, 1997).
Jirjees, F., Odeh, M., Al-Haddad, A., Ass’ad, R., Hassanin, Y., Al-Obaidi, H., Kharaba, Z., Alfoteih, Y., & Alzoubi, K. H. (2024). Test anxiety and coping strategies among university students: an exploratory study in the UAE. Scientific Reports, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-59739-4
Karyotaki, E., Cuijpers, P., Albor, Y., Alonso, J., Auerbach, R. P., Bantjes, J., Bruffaerts, R., Ebert, D. D., Hasking, P., Kiekens, G., Lee, S., McLafferty, M., Mak, A., Mortier, P., Sampson, N. A., Stein, D. J., Vilagut, G., & Kessler, R. C. (2020). Sources of Stress and Their Associations with Mental Disorders Among College Students: Results of the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys International College Student Initiative. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 1759. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01759
Khoshhal, K. I., Khairy, G. A., Guraya, S. Y., & Guraya, S. S. (2017). Exam anxiety in the undergraduate medical students of Taibah University. Medical Teacher, 39(sup1), S22–S26. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159x.2016.1254749
King, B. H. (2016). Psychiatric comorbidities in neurodevelopmental disorders. Current Opinion in Neurology 29(2): p 113-117, April 2016. | DOI: 10.1097/WCO.0000000000000299
Mofatteh, M. (2020). Risk factors associated with stress, anxiety, and depression among university undergraduate students. AIMS Public Health, 8(1), 36–65. https://doi.org/10.3934/publichealth.2021004
Pascoe, M., Hetrick, S. H., & Parker, A. G. (2020). The impact of stress on students in secondary school and higher education. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, VOL. 25(NO. 1), 104–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2019.1596823
Pascoe, M., Hetrick, S. H., & Parker, A. G. (2020). The impact of stress on students in secondary school and higher education. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, VOL. 25(NO. 1), 104–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2019.1596823
Rai, P. R., Ghimire, M. K. (2025). School dropout among Dalit students: Trends and causes in Molung Rural Municipality. ISRG Journal of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, 3(1), 1-10. ISRG Publishers. https://zenodo.org/records/14909613
Test anxiety. (2022). The Learning Center at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved December 8, 2024, from https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/tackling-test-anxiety/ (2023).
Vitasari, P., Wahab, M. N. A., Othman, A., Herawan, T., & Sinnadurai, S. K. (2010). The Relationship between Study Anxiety and Academic Performance among Engineering Students. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.12.067
World Health Organization. (2021). Violence Against Women Prevalence Estimates, 2018. Global, regional, and national prevalence estimates for intimate partner violence against women and global and regional estimates for non-partner sexual violence against women.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Minesh Kumar Ghimire, Anima Shrestha, Jagannath Kandel, Kalyan Poudel
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
