Anxiety Assessment in Students: Gender and Age

This paper investigates the impact of anxiety on student performance with respect to gender and age. It aims to determine whether males are more prone to anxiety compared to females when subjected to given situational pressures. The study also explores the reality of statistical anxiety as it pertains to the performance of statistical problem and tests by students.

Running head: ANXIETY ASSESSMENT IN STUDENTS: GENDER AND AGE 1
Anxiety Assessment in Students: Gender and Age Paper
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ANXIETY ASSESSMENT IN STUDENTS: GENDER AND AGE
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Anxiety Assessment in Students: Gender and Age
Introduction Section
Background Information
Anxiety is considered to be a common experience for every human being when presented
with a given situation. Anxiety is considered to be a natural response to a potential threat that
allows individuals to respond appropriately to the stimuli. According to researcher, the
heightened state of awareness associated with anxiety can significantly improvement the
performance of individuals and accelerate their creative potential. Anxiety is viewed as an
artefact designed by modern societies and is increasingly employed across social medial,
literature material, visual arts, and music. However, in some individuals anxiety leads to
irrational and inappropriate responses to a perceived threat. If this misbehaviour persists it can
result in intrusive symptoms commonly linked to anxiety disorders. Good examples of possible
warning signs for onset of anxiety disorder are obsessive behaviours, phobias, and panic. These
symptoms of anxiety disorders normally have a retrogressive pull on the lives on the afflicted
individuals (Bui & Alfaro, 2011).
Anxiety disorders are viewed to be the most rampant forms of illnesses in any given
community; especially in western countries. As such, countries like USA, Britain, and Australia
have created specialized hotlines and healthcare services to assist individuals suffering from
depression and anxiety disorders. It is a known fact that depressed patients normally exhibit
symptoms of anxiety disorders. Likewise, persons afflicted by anxiety disorder also radiate
symptoms of depression. So it is common for the two to occur together. Anxiety disorder
normally takes hold from childhood or adolescence (Forster & Maur, 2015).
Literature Review

ANXIETY ASSESSMENT IN STUDENTS: GENDER AND AGE
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A research study conducted by Macher, Papousek, Ruggeri, and Paechter (2015) explored
the reality of statistical anxiety as it pertains to the performance of statistical problem and tests
by students. Their research revealed that some student experienced statistical anxiety when they
were presented with statistical problems to solve. Statistical anxiety was therefore defines as a
persistent, habitual form of anxiety that is specific to field of statistics (Macher, et al., 2015). A
similar study by Eduljee and LeBourdais (2015) was conducted to investigate the concept of
statisitcal anixiety with regard to gender differences. In this case, uneven numbers of male and
female students were subjected to series of tests to evaluate whether they experienced statistical
anxiety. The hyopothesis analyses revealed that statistical anxiety was only statistically
significant in female students (Eduljee & LeBourdais, 2015). Lastly, a research assessment by
Macher, Paechter, Papousek, and Ruggeri (2012) was performed to assess which of these two
variables had the most influence on academic performance of student i.e. statistical anxiety and
individuals characteristics. The results of the study revealed that statistical anixety had a greater
influence on academic performance compared to individual characteristics (Macher, et al.,
2012).
Rationale
The issue of anxiety amongst student has to be investigated; mainly due to the fact that
students are considerably more prone to anxiety compared to the general population. For
instance, an increment in the number of university courses that demand students to undertake
statistics related units have also been accompanied by an increment in the cases of anxiety
amongst students. There is need to therefore assess the impact of anxiety on student performance
with respect to gender and age. There is a need to evaluate how different age groups deal with
demanding situations. Likewise, it is vital to determine whether males are more prone to anxiety

ANXIETY ASSESSMENT IN STUDENTS: GENDER AND AGE
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compared to females when subjected to given situational pressures; or the reverse is true
(Onwuegbuzie & Wilson, 2003).
Aim
The primary aim of this study is to investigate whether there is any significant difference in the
student anxiety levels across age groups, and between the male and female genders.
Hypothesis
Two hypotheses can be deduced from the study aim. The hypotheses can therefore be presented
in the following form
Age Hypothesis
Null Hypothesis (H0): There is no significant difference in the anxiety levels for male and
female students
Alternative Hypothesis (H1): There is a significant difference in the anxiety levels for male and
female students
Gender Hypothesis
Null Hypothesis (H0): There is no significant difference in the anxiety levels for various age
groups of students
Alternative Hypothesis (H1): There is a significant difference in the anxiety levels for various
age groups of students

ANXIETY ASSESSMENT IN STUDENTS: GENDER AND AGE
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References
Bui, N., & Alfaro, M. (2011). Statistics anxiety and science attitudes: Age, gender and ethnicity
factors. College Student Journal , XLV, 573 – 585.
Eduljee, N. B., & LeBourdais, P. (2015). Gender Differences in Statistics Anxiety with
Undergraduate College Students. The International Journal of Indian Psychology , II (3),
1-14.
Forster, M., & Maur, A. (2015). Statistics anxiety and self-concept of beginning students in the
social sciences – A matter of gender and socio-cultural background.
ZeitschriftfürHochschulentwicklung , X (4), 67 – 90.
Macher, D., Paechter, M., Papousek, I., & Ruggeri, K. (2012). Statistics anxiety, trait anxiety,
learning behavior,and academic performance. European Journal of Psychology of
Education , XXVII (4), 483-496.
Macher, D., Papousek, I., Ruggeri, K., & Paechter, M. (2015). Statistics anxiety and
performance: blessings in disguise. Frontiers in Psychology , VI, 1-4.
Onwuegbuzie, A. J., & Wilson, V. A. (2003). Statistics anxiety: Nature, etiology, antecedents,
effects, and treatments - A comprehensive review of the literature. Teaching in Higher
Education , VIII (2), 195-209.