Self-Efficacy and Mental Health Stigma’s Effect on Test Anxiety
Start Date
April 2026
Location
3rd floor - Library
Abstract
Problem or major purpose: Anxiety can negatively impact academic performance and self-perception. Further, negative mental health stigmas can impact the self-esteem and anxiety of individuals. However, self-efficacy, or belief in one’s abilities, may buffer against the of these factors. However, little is known about how self-efficacy and stigma interact to influence test-related anxiety and performance outcomes.
Procedure: This study aims to examine how exposure to positive or negative mental health stigma and varying levels of self-efficacy affect test-taking ability and anxiety. While past research has found that anxiety can decrease both self-efficacy and test performance, positive self-efficacy can buffer against the negative effects of stigma. This study may highlight how positive self-efficacy and reducing stigma can improve an individual's emotional well-being and academic performance.
Participants will complete a series of baseline assessments including the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE; Schwarzer, R., & Jerusalem, M., 1995) and measure of baseline emotions, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; Watson, D., Clark, L.A., & Tellegen, A., 1988) before being presented with either a positive or a negatively stigmatized paragraph. The positive paragraph is written as an informative article about the relationship between anxiety and test performance, suggesting that anxiety does not hinder academic achievement. The negative paragraph portrays anxiety as being detrimental to testing and academic performance. Participants will then be asked to quickly summarize what their paragraph stated, encouraging participants to engage with the stigma presented in it. Participants will then take the PANAS again before finally completing a timed five-minute anagram exam consisting of 30 scrambled anagram questions. Analyses will examine how participant self-efficacy and paragraph condition predict performance on the anagram task.
We hypothesize that individuals with higher self-efficacy will report lower anxiety levels after reading the negative paragraph and perform better on an anagram exam. Further, we expect that exposure to negative mental health stigma will increase anxiety and result in lower test performance.
The study has IRB approval and data collection is currently underway.
Self-Efficacy and Mental Health Stigma’s Effect on Test Anxiety
3rd floor - Library
Problem or major purpose: Anxiety can negatively impact academic performance and self-perception. Further, negative mental health stigmas can impact the self-esteem and anxiety of individuals. However, self-efficacy, or belief in one’s abilities, may buffer against the of these factors. However, little is known about how self-efficacy and stigma interact to influence test-related anxiety and performance outcomes.
Procedure: This study aims to examine how exposure to positive or negative mental health stigma and varying levels of self-efficacy affect test-taking ability and anxiety. While past research has found that anxiety can decrease both self-efficacy and test performance, positive self-efficacy can buffer against the negative effects of stigma. This study may highlight how positive self-efficacy and reducing stigma can improve an individual's emotional well-being and academic performance.
Participants will complete a series of baseline assessments including the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE; Schwarzer, R., & Jerusalem, M., 1995) and measure of baseline emotions, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; Watson, D., Clark, L.A., & Tellegen, A., 1988) before being presented with either a positive or a negatively stigmatized paragraph. The positive paragraph is written as an informative article about the relationship between anxiety and test performance, suggesting that anxiety does not hinder academic achievement. The negative paragraph portrays anxiety as being detrimental to testing and academic performance. Participants will then be asked to quickly summarize what their paragraph stated, encouraging participants to engage with the stigma presented in it. Participants will then take the PANAS again before finally completing a timed five-minute anagram exam consisting of 30 scrambled anagram questions. Analyses will examine how participant self-efficacy and paragraph condition predict performance on the anagram task.
We hypothesize that individuals with higher self-efficacy will report lower anxiety levels after reading the negative paragraph and perform better on an anagram exam. Further, we expect that exposure to negative mental health stigma will increase anxiety and result in lower test performance.
The study has IRB approval and data collection is currently underway.
