Published Paper Details:

Test anxiety is a common form of anxiety that is faced by students of all stages. Though low level of test anxiety is considered as an important achievement emotion [61], experiencing high levels of test anxiety can result in emotional and physical distress which affects the concentration, cognitive ability, self-esteem, self-efficacy, attention, memory power of the student, and cause physiological manifestations such as higher galvanic skin response, heart rate, dizziness, nausea, and panicking [8]. It is also highly prevalent, affecting 40-60% of the students negatively [50]. Hence it is vital to identify students with high test anxiety and provide them with appropriate intervention to help them perform at their maximum potential. The objective of this study is to analyze the relationships and the effectiveness of two important factors, self-efficacy, and perceived social support (support from friends, family, and significant others), in mitigating the ill-effects of test anxiety. Perceived Social support is defined as the information from the environment that leads an individual to perceive and believe he or she is loved and cared for, esteemed, and is a member of a network of mutual obligation [16]. Self-efficacy refers to an individual's belief in his or her own capacity to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific performance attainments [5]. The tools used for the study were the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support- MSPSS [82], General Self-efficacy Scale- GSE [83], and the Westside Test Anxiety Scale- WTAS [85]. The data was collected through purposive and snow-ball sampling techniques from a sample of about 221 female undergraduate students with age ranging between 17 and 23 years in Chennai, via online and in-person modes. Standard linear regression, Multiple regression, and Pearson's product moment correlation were used to analyze the data. The results revealed that- there exists a significant relationship between Self-efficacy and Test anxiety (r (211) = -.349, p < 0.01)), there is a significant relationship between Perceived social support and Test anxiety (r (211) = -.210, p < 0.01)), there exists a significant relationship between Perceived social support from both family and friends and Test anxiety (r (211) = -.251, p < 0.01; r (211) = -.149, p < 0.05)) but not between significant other and Test anxiety (r (211) = -.115, p > 0.01)), both Self-efficacy and Perceived social support significantly predict Test anxiety (R2 = .122, t (211) = -5.384, p < 0.01; R2 = .044, t (211) = -3.110, p < 0.01)), and that Perceived social support from Family independently predicts Test anxiety significantly (t (211) = -3.199, p = .002 (p < 0.01)). The implication of this study is that the results can be used to develop educational, psychological, and psychosocial intervention programs for college students who are affected by high levels of test anxiety.