Dimensions of test anxiety: Relations to ways of coping with pre-exam anxiety and uncertainty.

Cumulative evidence has shown that four dimensions can be differentiated in the experience of test anxiety:

worry, emotionality, interference, and lack of confidence. To investigate whether these dimensions show

specific relationships with ways of coping, a study with 162 students (75 male, 87 female) examined how

students cope with anxiety and uncertainty in the run-up to important exams. Coping strategies included task orientation and preparation, seeking social support, and avoidance. Results showed that overall test anxiety

was related to seeking social support. When dimensions of test anxiety were inspected individually while

controlling for interdimensional overlap, however, results showed a specific pattern of relationships: (a) worry

was related to task-orientation and preparation and inversely related to cognitive avoidance, (b) emotionality

was related to task-orientation and preparation and seeking social support, and (c) interference was related to

avoidance and inversely related to task-orientation and preparation, whereas (d) lack of confidence was

related to avoidance only. Although some gender differences emerged, the findings indicate that the main

components of test anxiety display different relationships with coping. Moreover, they confirm that it is

important to differentiate between worry and interference because these dimensions, albeit closely related,

may show opposite relationships with ways of coping.