Developing Academic Anxiety Scale: A Psychometric Study on a Sample of University Students
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.main##
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.sidebar##
Published
Dec 7, 2025
Copyright Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Omar Atallah Ali Al-Adamat
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9767-5754
Ahmad Mohammad Musa Mahasaneh
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6308-0920
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9767-5754
Ahmad Mohammad Musa Mahasaneh
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6308-0920
Abstract
This study aimed to develop a scale to measure academic anxiety among university students and verify its validity and psychometric properties, given the significant impact of academic anxiety on academic achievement, motivation, and integration into the university environment. It also aimed to provide a reliable local standardized tool for diagnosing levels of academic anxiety among students, which would help researchers and academic practitioners to take appropriate interventions. The study adopted the descriptive analytical approach, and 926 male and female students from Hashemite University participated in it. Exploratory factor analysis was used to reveal the main factors of the scale, and confirmatory analysis was used to verify the suitability of the proposed structural model. Reliability coefficients were also calculated using Cronbach's alpha and split-half. The results showed that the scale consists of four main factors: fear, emotion, task interference, and lack of study skills. These factors explained approximately 61% of the total variance. Confirmatory analysis demonstrated a good fit for the model, with a reliability coefficient of 0.92 and a split-half of 0.84, reflecting high internal consistency. No statistically significant differences in anxiety levels were recorded by gender. The study's originality lies in being one of the first studies to develop a local scale for academic anxiety in the Jordanian university context. Further studies are recommended to implement the scale at other universities to enhance confidence in its psychometric properties and its use as a reliable tool for detecting students' levels of academic anxiety, and taking appropriate measures to address it.
Metrics
Metrics Loading ...
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.details##
Keywords
Factorial structureConstructingAnxietyAcademic anxietyUniversity students
References
Altafi, A. (2017). The effectiveness of strength perspective in social casework for alleviating academic anxiety at new students in university (in Arabic). Journal of Social Work, 57(8), 15–78.
Aronin, S., Smith, M., Aronin, S., & Smith, M. (2018). You Gov One in four students suffer from mental health problems. (online) You Gov: What the world thinks. Available at: https://yougov.co.uk/news/2016/08/09/quarter-britainsstudents-are-afflicted-mental-hea/ (Accessed 19 Mar.2018).
Azeem, A. (2018). Study of academic anxiety and academic achievement among secondary school students. International Journal of Research in Social Sciences, 8(3), 147–161.
Bandelow B., & Michaelis S. (2015). Epidemiology of anxiety disorders in the 21st century. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 17(3), 327–335.
Baro, K., & Mishra, L. (2022). Academic anxiety among adolescent in the relation to their socio-economic status. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 6(2), 17–21.
Bhansali, R., & Trivedi, K. (2008). Is academic anxiety gender specific: A comparative study. Journal of Social Science, 17(1), 1–3.
Bihari, S. (2014). Academic anxiety among secondary school students with reference to gender, habitat and types of school. International Journal of Educational and Psychological Research, 3(4), 30–34.
Cambridge dictionary. (2021). UK; Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from; https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/anxiety
Casali, N., Ghisi, M., Rizzato, R., Meneghetti, C., & Beni, R. (2022). Validation of the study anxiety questionnaire: A scale for the initial assessment of university students seeking psychological help. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 44, 1158–1168.
Cassady, J. C. (2010). Test anxiety: Contemporary theories and implications for learning. In J. C. Cassady (Ed.), Anxiety in schools: The causes, consequences, and solutions for academic anxieties (pp. 7–26). Peter Lang.
Cassady, J.C., Pierson, E. E., & Starling, J. M. (2019). Predicting student depression with measures of general and academic anxieties. Frontiers in Education: Educational Psychology, 4(11), 1–9.
Derakshan, N., & Eysenck, M. W. (2009). Anxiety, processing efficiency, and cognitive performance: New developments from attentional control theory. European Psychologist, 14(2), 168–176.
Dobos, B., Piko, B. F. & Mellor, D. (2021). What makes university students perfectionists? The role of childhood trauma, emotional dysregulation, academic anxiety and social support. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 62, 443–447.
Elsokkary, E. (2022). The structural model of the causal relationship between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, academic anxiety and academic engagement among university students (in Arabic). Egyptian Journal of Psychological Studies, 32(114), 373–436.
Foley, A. E., Herts, J. B., Borgonovi, F., Guerriero, S., Levine, S. C., & Beilock, S. L. (2017). The math anxiety performance link: A global phenomenon. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 26(1), 52–58.
Gautam, S. (2011). Academic anxiety of urban and rural adolescent girls in relation to their social economic status. International Referred Research Journal, 3(33), 27–31.
Goldberg, L.R. (1993). The Structure of phenotypic personality Traits. American Psychologist, 48(01), 26–34.
Gul, S. (2017). A study of loneliness and academic anxiety among college students. The Communication, 25(2), 85–89.
Hasan, M. (2022). Words effect of gender local and school type on the academic anxiety of secondary school students. Journal of Social Sciences Education, 9(1), 43–52.
Hendawy. E. (2020). The effectiveness of a training program based on emotional reassurance to decrease perceived stress and academic anxiety and academic engagement among university students (in Arabic). Egyptian Journal of Psychological Studies, 30(107), 1–34.
Herring, M.P., Kline, C.E., & O'Connor, P.J. (2015). Effects of exercise on sleep among young women with generalized anxiety disorder. Mental Health and Physical Activity, 17(3), 23–27.
Hooda, M., & Saini, A. (2017). Academic anxiety: An overview. Educational Quest, 8(3), 807–810.
Horwitz, E. K. (2000). It ain’t over ’til it’s over: On foreign language anxiety, first language deficits, and the confounding of variables. The Modern Language Journal, 84(2), 256–259.
Kaya, E., Sari, I., Tolukan, E., & Gulle, M. (2015). Examination of trait anxiety levels of physical education and sport students: Ibrahim Cecen University case. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 152(7), 399–402.
Kelly, W.E. (2002). Anxiety and the prediction of task duration: A preliminary analysis. The Journal of psychology, 136(1), 53–58.
Kumar, M.D. (2013). A study of academic achievement of school student in relation to their study habits, academic anxiety and academic motivation (2nd, edn.). New-Delhi: New Age International Private Limited.
Mahajan, G. (2015). Academic anxiety of secondary school students in relation to their parental encouragement. International Journal of Research Humanities and Social Sciences, 3(4), 23–29.
Mahato, B., & Jangir, S. (2012). A study on academic anxiety among adolescent of Minicoy Island. International Journal of Science and Research, 1(3), 12–14.
Mahmoud, S., Abedlhalim, E. (2022). The effectiveness of a training program based on emotional processing in improving motivational beliefs and perceived mental images among high academic anxiety university students (in Arabic). Journal of Educational Sciences, 103, 1–83.
Mattoo, N. H. & Nabi. R. (2012). A study on academic anxiety among adolescents (14–16 years). International Journal of Social Science Tomorrow, 1(3), 37–42.
Natarajan, G. (2015). Study on anxiety level among school students undergoing higher secondary examination. International Journal of Students Research in Technology & Management, 3(3), 302–304.
Owens, M., Stevenson, J., Hadwin, J., & Norgate, R. (2012). Anxiety and depression in academic performance: An exploration of the mediating factors of worry and working memory. School Psychology International, 33, 433–449.
Pizzie, R. G., & Kraemer, D. J. M. (2018). The academic anxiety inventory: evidence for dissociable patterns of anxiety related to math and other sources of academic stress. Frontiers Psychology, 9, 1–20.
Putman, S. M. (2010). The debilitative effects of anxiety on reading affect. In J. C. Cassady (Ed.), Anxiety in schools: The causes, consequences, and solutions for academic anxieties. NY: Peter Lang.
Rehman, A. (2016). Academic anxiety among higher education students of India, causes and preventive measure: An exploratory study. International Journal of Modern Social Sciences, 5(2), 102–116.
Saad, S., Carter, G. W., Rothenberg, M., & Israelson, E. (1999). Testing and assessment: An employer's guide to good practices. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor.
Scovel, T. (1978). The effects that affect foreign language learning; A review of the anxiety research. Language learning, 2(01), 129–142.
Shabeeb, A., & Al-Blueshia, A. (2017). A study of academic anxiety among university students of both gender in the light of their scientific specialization (in Arabic). Journal of Educational Sciences, 30, 14–40.
Siahi, E.A., & Maiyo, J.K. (2015). Study of the relationship between study habits and academic achievement of students: A case of Spicer higher secondary School-India. International Journal of Educational Administration and Policy Studies, 7(7), 134–141.
Stevens, J. P. (2002). Applied multivariate statistics for the social sciences, (4th ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Tohill, J., & Holyoak, K. (2000). The impact of anxiety on analogical reasoning. Thinking & Reasoning, 6(1), 27–40.
Vitasari, P., Wahab, N., Othman, A., & Herawan, T. (2010). The relationship between study anxiety and academic performance among engineering students. Procedia-Social & Behavioral Sciences, 8, 490–497.
Vytal, K., Cornwell, B., Letkiewicz, A., Arkin, N., & Grillon, C. (2013). The complex interaction between anxiety and cognition: insight from spatial and verbal working memory. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 1–11.
Yadav, P.L. (1989). Anxiety, frustration and neuroticism as functions of socio economic status and cultural setting in different divisions and failures of high school students. Fifth Survey of Educational Research, 2, 1029–1030.
*******************************************************************************
السكري، عماد الدين. (2022). النموذج البنائي للعلاقات السببية بين الكمالية التكيفية واللاتكيفية والقلق الأكاديمي والاندماج الأكاديمي لدى طلبة الجامعة. المجلة المصرية للدراسات النفسية، 32(114)، 373- 436.
شبيب، أحمد والبلوشية، عائشة. (2017). دراسة الفروق في القلق الأكاديمي لدى طلبة الجامعة من الجنسين في ضوء تخصصاتهم العلمية. مجلة العلوم التربوية، 30، 14- 40.
الطايفي، عبده. (2017). فاعلية منظور القوى في خدمة الفرد للتخفيف من القلق الأكاديمي لدى الطلاب المستجدين بالجامعة. مجلة الخدمة الاجتماعية، 57(8)، 15- 78.
محمود، سماح وعبد الحليم. (2022). فاعلية برنامج قائم على التجهيز الانفعالي في تحسين المعتقدات الدافعية والصور الذهنية المدركة لدى طلاب الجامعة مرتفعي القلق الأكاديمي. المجلة التربوية، 103، 1- 83.
هنداوي، إحسان. (2020). أثر التدريب على الطمأنينة الانفعالية في خفض الضغط النفسي المدرك (الانعصاب) والقلق الأكاديمي لدى عينة من طلبة الجامعة. المجلة المصرية للدراسات النفسية، 30(107)، 1- 34.
Aronin, S., Smith, M., Aronin, S., & Smith, M. (2018). You Gov One in four students suffer from mental health problems. (online) You Gov: What the world thinks. Available at: https://yougov.co.uk/news/2016/08/09/quarter-britainsstudents-are-afflicted-mental-hea/ (Accessed 19 Mar.2018).
Azeem, A. (2018). Study of academic anxiety and academic achievement among secondary school students. International Journal of Research in Social Sciences, 8(3), 147–161.
Bandelow B., & Michaelis S. (2015). Epidemiology of anxiety disorders in the 21st century. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 17(3), 327–335.
Baro, K., & Mishra, L. (2022). Academic anxiety among adolescent in the relation to their socio-economic status. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 6(2), 17–21.
Bhansali, R., & Trivedi, K. (2008). Is academic anxiety gender specific: A comparative study. Journal of Social Science, 17(1), 1–3.
Bihari, S. (2014). Academic anxiety among secondary school students with reference to gender, habitat and types of school. International Journal of Educational and Psychological Research, 3(4), 30–34.
Cambridge dictionary. (2021). UK; Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from; https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/anxiety
Casali, N., Ghisi, M., Rizzato, R., Meneghetti, C., & Beni, R. (2022). Validation of the study anxiety questionnaire: A scale for the initial assessment of university students seeking psychological help. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 44, 1158–1168.
Cassady, J. C. (2010). Test anxiety: Contemporary theories and implications for learning. In J. C. Cassady (Ed.), Anxiety in schools: The causes, consequences, and solutions for academic anxieties (pp. 7–26). Peter Lang.
Cassady, J.C., Pierson, E. E., & Starling, J. M. (2019). Predicting student depression with measures of general and academic anxieties. Frontiers in Education: Educational Psychology, 4(11), 1–9.
Derakshan, N., & Eysenck, M. W. (2009). Anxiety, processing efficiency, and cognitive performance: New developments from attentional control theory. European Psychologist, 14(2), 168–176.
Dobos, B., Piko, B. F. & Mellor, D. (2021). What makes university students perfectionists? The role of childhood trauma, emotional dysregulation, academic anxiety and social support. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 62, 443–447.
Elsokkary, E. (2022). The structural model of the causal relationship between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, academic anxiety and academic engagement among university students (in Arabic). Egyptian Journal of Psychological Studies, 32(114), 373–436.
Foley, A. E., Herts, J. B., Borgonovi, F., Guerriero, S., Levine, S. C., & Beilock, S. L. (2017). The math anxiety performance link: A global phenomenon. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 26(1), 52–58.
Gautam, S. (2011). Academic anxiety of urban and rural adolescent girls in relation to their social economic status. International Referred Research Journal, 3(33), 27–31.
Goldberg, L.R. (1993). The Structure of phenotypic personality Traits. American Psychologist, 48(01), 26–34.
Gul, S. (2017). A study of loneliness and academic anxiety among college students. The Communication, 25(2), 85–89.
Hasan, M. (2022). Words effect of gender local and school type on the academic anxiety of secondary school students. Journal of Social Sciences Education, 9(1), 43–52.
Hendawy. E. (2020). The effectiveness of a training program based on emotional reassurance to decrease perceived stress and academic anxiety and academic engagement among university students (in Arabic). Egyptian Journal of Psychological Studies, 30(107), 1–34.
Herring, M.P., Kline, C.E., & O'Connor, P.J. (2015). Effects of exercise on sleep among young women with generalized anxiety disorder. Mental Health and Physical Activity, 17(3), 23–27.
Hooda, M., & Saini, A. (2017). Academic anxiety: An overview. Educational Quest, 8(3), 807–810.
Horwitz, E. K. (2000). It ain’t over ’til it’s over: On foreign language anxiety, first language deficits, and the confounding of variables. The Modern Language Journal, 84(2), 256–259.
Kaya, E., Sari, I., Tolukan, E., & Gulle, M. (2015). Examination of trait anxiety levels of physical education and sport students: Ibrahim Cecen University case. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 152(7), 399–402.
Kelly, W.E. (2002). Anxiety and the prediction of task duration: A preliminary analysis. The Journal of psychology, 136(1), 53–58.
Kumar, M.D. (2013). A study of academic achievement of school student in relation to their study habits, academic anxiety and academic motivation (2nd, edn.). New-Delhi: New Age International Private Limited.
Mahajan, G. (2015). Academic anxiety of secondary school students in relation to their parental encouragement. International Journal of Research Humanities and Social Sciences, 3(4), 23–29.
Mahato, B., & Jangir, S. (2012). A study on academic anxiety among adolescent of Minicoy Island. International Journal of Science and Research, 1(3), 12–14.
Mahmoud, S., Abedlhalim, E. (2022). The effectiveness of a training program based on emotional processing in improving motivational beliefs and perceived mental images among high academic anxiety university students (in Arabic). Journal of Educational Sciences, 103, 1–83.
Mattoo, N. H. & Nabi. R. (2012). A study on academic anxiety among adolescents (14–16 years). International Journal of Social Science Tomorrow, 1(3), 37–42.
Natarajan, G. (2015). Study on anxiety level among school students undergoing higher secondary examination. International Journal of Students Research in Technology & Management, 3(3), 302–304.
Owens, M., Stevenson, J., Hadwin, J., & Norgate, R. (2012). Anxiety and depression in academic performance: An exploration of the mediating factors of worry and working memory. School Psychology International, 33, 433–449.
Pizzie, R. G., & Kraemer, D. J. M. (2018). The academic anxiety inventory: evidence for dissociable patterns of anxiety related to math and other sources of academic stress. Frontiers Psychology, 9, 1–20.
Putman, S. M. (2010). The debilitative effects of anxiety on reading affect. In J. C. Cassady (Ed.), Anxiety in schools: The causes, consequences, and solutions for academic anxieties. NY: Peter Lang.
Rehman, A. (2016). Academic anxiety among higher education students of India, causes and preventive measure: An exploratory study. International Journal of Modern Social Sciences, 5(2), 102–116.
Saad, S., Carter, G. W., Rothenberg, M., & Israelson, E. (1999). Testing and assessment: An employer's guide to good practices. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor.
Scovel, T. (1978). The effects that affect foreign language learning; A review of the anxiety research. Language learning, 2(01), 129–142.
Shabeeb, A., & Al-Blueshia, A. (2017). A study of academic anxiety among university students of both gender in the light of their scientific specialization (in Arabic). Journal of Educational Sciences, 30, 14–40.
Siahi, E.A., & Maiyo, J.K. (2015). Study of the relationship between study habits and academic achievement of students: A case of Spicer higher secondary School-India. International Journal of Educational Administration and Policy Studies, 7(7), 134–141.
Stevens, J. P. (2002). Applied multivariate statistics for the social sciences, (4th ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Tohill, J., & Holyoak, K. (2000). The impact of anxiety on analogical reasoning. Thinking & Reasoning, 6(1), 27–40.
Vitasari, P., Wahab, N., Othman, A., & Herawan, T. (2010). The relationship between study anxiety and academic performance among engineering students. Procedia-Social & Behavioral Sciences, 8, 490–497.
Vytal, K., Cornwell, B., Letkiewicz, A., Arkin, N., & Grillon, C. (2013). The complex interaction between anxiety and cognition: insight from spatial and verbal working memory. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 1–11.
Yadav, P.L. (1989). Anxiety, frustration and neuroticism as functions of socio economic status and cultural setting in different divisions and failures of high school students. Fifth Survey of Educational Research, 2, 1029–1030.
*******************************************************************************
السكري، عماد الدين. (2022). النموذج البنائي للعلاقات السببية بين الكمالية التكيفية واللاتكيفية والقلق الأكاديمي والاندماج الأكاديمي لدى طلبة الجامعة. المجلة المصرية للدراسات النفسية، 32(114)، 373- 436.
شبيب، أحمد والبلوشية، عائشة. (2017). دراسة الفروق في القلق الأكاديمي لدى طلبة الجامعة من الجنسين في ضوء تخصصاتهم العلمية. مجلة العلوم التربوية، 30، 14- 40.
الطايفي، عبده. (2017). فاعلية منظور القوى في خدمة الفرد للتخفيف من القلق الأكاديمي لدى الطلاب المستجدين بالجامعة. مجلة الخدمة الاجتماعية، 57(8)، 15- 78.
محمود، سماح وعبد الحليم. (2022). فاعلية برنامج قائم على التجهيز الانفعالي في تحسين المعتقدات الدافعية والصور الذهنية المدركة لدى طلاب الجامعة مرتفعي القلق الأكاديمي. المجلة التربوية، 103، 1- 83.
هنداوي، إحسان. (2020). أثر التدريب على الطمأنينة الانفعالية في خفض الضغط النفسي المدرك (الانعصاب) والقلق الأكاديمي لدى عينة من طلبة الجامعة. المجلة المصرية للدراسات النفسية، 30(107)، 1- 34.
How to Cite
Al-Adamat, Omar Atallah Ali, and Ahmad Mohammad Musa Mahasaneh. 2025. “Developing Academic Anxiety Scale: A Psychometric Study on a Sample of University Students”. Journal of Educational Sciences – Qatar University 25 (3). https://doi.org/10.29117/jes.2025.0246.
Section
Articles in Arabic