Patricia A. Lowe

Significant Predictors of Test Anxiety Among Students With and Without Learning Disabilities

In the present study, the relationship between students with and without learning disabilities (LD) and different aspects of test anxiety was examined on a new multidimensional measure of test anxiety. A sample of 774 elementary and secondary school students—195 students with LD and 579 students not identified with LD—completed the Test Anxiety Inventory for Children and Adolescents (TAICA), a new multidimensional measure of test anxiety for elementary and secondary school students in Grades 4 through 12. Examination of the factor structure of the TAICA scores across LD status to determine whether accurate test score interpretation was possible revealed that the majority of the coefficient of congruence values between each pair of six corresponding factors of the TAICA (Cognitive Obstruction/ Inattention, Performance Enhancement/Facilitation Anxiety, Physiological Hyperarousal, Social Humiliation, Worry, and Lie) and the Total Test Anxiety factor were above .90, and the salient variable similarity index values were statistically significant, suggesting that the factor structure of the TAICA was similar across groups. The results of seven multiple regression analyses revealed that LD predicted higher Cognitive Obstruction/Inattention and Worry scores and lower Performance Enhancement/Facilitation Anxiety and Lie scores. Implications of the findings for school personnel who work with students with LD are discussed.

The Test Anxiety Inventory for Children and Adolescents (TAICA) Examination of the Psychometric Properties of a New Multidimensional Measure of Test Anxiety Among Elementary and Secondary School Students

The Test Anxiety Inventory for Children and Adolescents (TAICA) is a new multidimensional measure used to assess test anxiety in elementary and secondary school students. The TAICA is a 45-item self-report measure consisting of a Total Test Anxiety scale, four debilitating test anxiety subscales (Cognitive Obstruction/Inattention, Physiological Hyperarousal, Social Humiliation, and Worry), a facilitating test anxiety scale (Performance Enhancement/ Facilitation Anxiety), and a Lie scale. In the present study, the psychometric properties of the TAICA scores are examined with a volunteer sample of 206 children and adolescents. Results of the study indicate that the TAICA scores have strong to very strong internal consistency reliability and temporal stability (1- to 3-week test-retest interval). Evidence supporting the construct validity of the TAICA scores was found.

Factor Structure of the Test Anxiety Inventory for Children and Adolescents (TAICA) Scores Across Gender Among Students in Elementary and Secondary School Settings

The factor structure of the Test Anxiety Inventory for Children and Adolescents, a new multidimensional measure used to assess test anxiety in elementary and secondary school students, is examined across gender. The sample consisted of 696 elementary and secondary school students (391 girls and 305 boys). Coefficient of congruence and salient variable similarity index values reported between each pair of six matched factors (Cognitive Obstruction/ Inattention, Performance Enhancement/Facilitation Anxiety, Physiological Hyperarousal, Social Humiliation, Worry, and Lie) and the Total Test Anxiety factor suggest that the factor structure is similar across gender. Results of a planned multivariate group comparison and three analyses of variance found that girls scored statistically significantly higher than boys on the debilitating test anxiety factors and boys scored statistically significantly higher on the Lie factor. No gender difference was found on the Performance Enhancement/Facilitation Anxiety factor. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Examination of the Psychometric Properties of the Test Anxiety Scale for Elementary Students (TAS-E) Scores

The psychometric properties of the Test Anxiety Scale for Elementary Students (TAS-E) scores were examined. In Study 1, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed on the responses of 997 students in Grades 2 to 6 on the TAS-E. The results of the EFA produced a four-factor solution: Physiological Hyperarousal, Social Concerns, Task Irrelevant Behavior, and Worry. Gender differences were also found on each factor, except the Social Concerns factor. In Study 2, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed on the TAS-E scores with a sample of 421 elementary students. The CFA results provided support for the four-factor solution in Study 1. The results also indicated that the TAS-E scores had adequate internal consistency reliability and test score stability. Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity of the TAS-E scores was found.

Cross-cultural examination of test anxiety among US and Singapore students on the Test Anxiety Scale for Elementary Students (TAS-E)

In the present study, the similarity of the factor structure of the Test Anxiety Scale for Elementary Students (TAS-E) and cultural and gender differences in test anxiety were examined in a sample of 1322 US and Singapore elementary students. The similarity of the factor structure of the TAS-E, a measure of test anxiety, was examined to determine whether the same test score interpretation could be made across culture and gender. Coefficient of congruence and salient variable similarity index values indicated that the pairs of matched factors (Physiological Hyperarousal, Social Concerns, Task Irrelevant Behaviour, Worry and Total Test Anxiety factors) of the TAS-E were similar across culture and gender. Results of a 2 × 2 ANOVA and 2 × 2 MANOVA with follow-up ANOVAs revealed that Singapore males scored higher than US males and US females scored higher than Singapore females on the TAS-E Total Test Anxiety scale and the Physiological Hyperarousal subscale. Singapore males also scored higher than US males on the TAS-E Worry subscale. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Examination of the Psychometric Properties of the Adult Manifest Anxiety Scale-Elderly Version Scores.

The psychometric properties of the Adult Manifest Anxiety Scale-Elderly Version (AMAS-E) scores were evaluated in two studies. In Study 1, the temporal stability and construct validity of the AMAS-E test scores were examined in a group of 226 older adults, aged 60 years and older. Results indicated adequate to excellent temporal stability (2-week interval) for the AMAS-E test scores. Evidence supporting the construct validity of the AMAS-E scale scores as measures of various aspects of anxiety was found. In Study 2, the factor structure of the AMAS-E was examined across gender for a sample of 863 older adults, 555 women and 308 men, aged 60 to 100 years. Coefficient of congruence and salient variable similarity index values reported suggest that the pairs of matched factors of each of the four factors (i.e., Fear of Aging, Physiological Anxiety, Worry/Oversensitivity, and Lie) and the general anxiety (g anx ) or Total Anxiety factor were invariant across gender. Implications of the findings are discussed.

An examination of the RCMAS-2 scores across gender, ethnic background, and age in a large Asian school sample.

The present study investigated the factor structure, reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, and U.S. norms of the Revised Childrens Manifest Anxiety Scale, Second Edition (RCMAS-2; C. R. Reynolds & B. O. Richmond, 2008a) scores in a Singapore sample of 1,618 school-age children and adolescents. Although there were small statistically significant differences in the average RCMAS-2 T scores found across various demographic groupings, on the whole, the U.S. norms appear adequate for use in the Asian Singapore sample. Results from item bias analyses suggested that biased items detected had small effects and were counterbalanced across gender and ethnicity, and hence, their relative impact on test score variation appears to be minimal. Results of factor analyses on the RCMAS-2 scores supported the presence of a large general anxiety factor, the Total Anxiety factor, and the 5-factor structure found in U.S. samples was replicated. Both the large general anxiety factor and the 5-factor solution were invariant across gender and ethnic background. Internal consistency estimates ranged from adequate to good, and 2-week test-retest reliability estimates were comparable to previous studies. Evidence providing support for convergent and discriminant validity of the RCMAS-2 scores was also found. Taken together, findings provide additional cross-cultural evidence of the appropriateness and usefulness of the RCMAS-2 as a measure of anxiety in Asian Singaporean school-age children and adolescents.

Psychometric Analyses of the Adult Manifest Anxiety Scale–Adult Version among Young and Middle-Aged Adults

Responses of 871 adults to the Adult Manifest Anxiety Scale–Adult version (AMAS-A) were factor analyzed using the method of principal axis factoring with promax rotation. Factor analysis yielded a four-factor solution: three anxiety factors (Worry/Oversensitivity, Stress, and Physiological Anxiety) and a Lie factor. The AMAS-A’s three factor structure of anxiety is consistent with multidimensional theories of anxiety and lends support to the validity of the interpretation of the AMAS-A scores as reflecting anxiety in several dimensions. Temporal stability and convergent and discriminant validity of the AMAS-A test scores were also examined in a sample of 76 young and middleaged adults. Results indicated good to excellent test-retest reliability for the AMAS-A scores over a 2- to 3-week interval. Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity of the AMAS-Ascores as measures of various aspects of anxietywas found. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Factor Structure of AMAS-C Scores Across Gender among Students in Collegiate Settings.

The factor structure of scores on the Adult Manifest Anxiety Scale-College Version (AMAS-C), a new self-report measure of chronic, manifest anxiety, is examined across gender for a sample of 943 college students (608 women and 335 men). Values for the coefficient of congruence and salient variable similarity index are calculated between each of five matched factors (Physiological Anxiety, Social Concerns/Stress, Test Anxiety, Worry/Oversensitivity, and Lie) and the Total Anxiety factor. Values obtained suggest that the factors are similar across gender and provide support for the existence of the AMAS-C scales for college women and men. Examination of the mean levels of performance across gender indicates that college women report more anxiety than college men on all the anxiety scales, except one, the Social Concerns/Stress subscale, and the Lie scale. Implications of the findings are discussed.

The Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale-Second Edition Short Form: Examination of the Psychometric Properties of a Brief Measure of General Anxiety in a Sample of Children and Adolescents.

The psychometric properties of a new, brief measure, the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale–Second Edition (RCMAS-2) Short Form, were examined in a sample of 1,003 U.S. elementary and secondary students. The RCMAS-2 Short Form consists of the first 10 items of the RCMAS-2. The results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the modified one-factor model provided an adequate fit for students in Grades 2 to 12. The results of tests of measurement invariance supported configural, weak, and strong invariance of the RCMAS-2 Short Form across gender and configural, weak, and partial strong invariance of the RCMAS-2 Short Form across age. Gender and age differences were also examined on the RCMAS-2 Short Form. The results of latent mean analyses indicated that adolescents (ages 12-19) and females had significantly higher factor means than children (ages 7-11) and males, respectively, on the RCMAS-2 Short Form. Moderate correlations between the RCMAS-2 Short Form scores and scores of measures of test anxiety were found. Implications of the findings for researchers and clinicians who work with children and adolescents are discussed.