The Structure of Evaluative Anxiety Among Children Differing in Socioeconomic Status, Ethnicity, And Sex

Abstract

Following Anastasi and Thurstone, the factor structure of evaluative anxiety was examined among six groups of primary age boys and girls (N = 8064). A factor matching technique was used to study hypotheses about the effects of group differences in socioeconomic status (SES), ethnicity, and sex on the pattern of the children's responses to the Test Anxiety Scale for Children (TASC). Hypotheses about the congruence of factor patterns were based on both demographic differences and results of developmental research. The hypothesis of an SES × ethnicity × sex interaction was strongly supported. Implications for comparing factor structures, measuring evaluative anxiety, and future research of evaluative anxiety are discussed.