Trait and state anxiety across academic evaluative contexts: development and validation of the MTEA-12 and MSEA-12 scales

ABSTRACT

Background and objectives: Educational measures of anxiety focus heavily on students’ experiences with tests yet overlook other assessment contexts. In this research, two brief multiscale questionnaires were developed and validated to measure trait evaluation anxiety (MTEA-12) and state evaluation anxiety (MSEA-12) for use in various assessment contexts in non-clinical, educational settings.

Design: The research included a cross-sectional analysis of self-report data using authentic assessment settings in which evaluation anxiety was measured.

Method: Instruments were tested using a validation sample of 241 first-year university students in New Zealand. Scale development included component structures for state and trait scales based on existing theoretical frameworks.

Results: Analyses using confirmatory factor analysis and descriptive statistics indicate that the scales are reliable and structurally valid. Multivariate general linear modeling using subscales from the MTEA-12, MSEA-12, and student grades suggest adequate criterion-related validity. Initial predictive validity in which one relevant MTEA-12 factor explained between 21% and 54% of the variance in three MSEA-12 factors.

Conclusions: Results document MTEA-12 and MSEA-12 as reliable measures of trait and state dimensions of evaluation anxiety for test and writing contexts. Initial estimates suggest the scales as having promising validity, and recommendations for further validation are outlined.

KEYWORDS:

• Anxiety
• test anxiety
• education
• university
• writing
• assessment

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Valerie A. Sotardi http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2720-6362

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a research grant to the first author from Ako Aotearoa: National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence of New Zealand (S1601).