Factor Structure of the Test Anxiety Inventory for Children and Adolescents (TAICA) Scores Across Gender Among Students in Elementary and Secondary School Settings
Abstract
The factor structure of the Test Anxiety Inventory for Children and Adolescents, a new multidimensional measure used to assess test anxiety in elementary and secondary school students, is examined across gender. The sample consisted of 696 elementary and secondary school students (391 girls and 305 boys). Coefficient of congruence and salient variable similarity index values reported between each pair of six matched factors (Cognitive Obstruction/ Inattention, Performance Enhancement/Facilitation Anxiety, Physiological Hyperarousal, Social Humiliation, Worry, and Lie) and the Total Test Anxiety factor suggest that the factor structure is similar across gender. Results of a planned multivariate group comparison and three analyses of variance found that girls scored statistically significantly higher than boys on the debilitating test anxiety factors and boys scored statistically significantly higher on the Lie factor. No gender difference was found on the Performance Enhancement/Facilitation Anxiety factor. Implications of the findings are discussed.