Student Anxiety

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Anxiety refers to varied psychological issues which include worries or fears of future events (Evans et al., 2012). Students in tertiary education have been found to be an at-risk population because they experience significantly greater levels of anxiety than the general population (Stallman, 2010). Larcombe et. al’s (2016, p. 12) study found that ‘one in four university students experience very high levels of psychological distress’. There have been numerous adverse effects of tertiary education on students, some leading to mental health problems like anxiety and depression, and in worst cases, suicide. Hence, it is important to understand what students require to successfully complete tertiary studies whilst
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According to Bitsika, Sharpley, and Rubenstein (2010), self-discipline, time management, and academic performance are some of the key factors that contributed to students’ self-confidence. Self-discipline is incredibly important for students’ goal setting as with continuous practice of this, individuals become less susceptible to anxiousness, disappointment, and frustration (Morisano, Hirsh, Peterson, Pihl, & Shore, 2010). Furthermore, ‘short-range’ time management had better outcomes than long range ones as ‘the college environment is one in which changes on expectations, demands, and so forth, are relatively rapid and frequent’ such as curriculum deviations, differences in difficulty, and change of deadlines (Briton & Tesser, 1991, p. 5). Moreover, Sizoo, Jozkowskia, Malhotra, and Shapero (2008) concurs that subpar academic performance propagates anxiety which obstructs accomplishment of goals the delay of intervention from …show more content…
It was found that goal setting and setting deadlines reduced anxiety levels. This is supported by Larcombe et. al ‘s (2016) study that self-discipline through goal setting and self-discipline, anxiety decreased, thereby increasing self-confidence.

Additionally, half of the participants reported difficulties with time management. Moreover, it was found that individuals with insufficient time management skills (procrastinators) undergo elevated anxiety levels. This is associated Stallman’s findings that the delay of tasks amplifies anxiety more as the demands of university increases (2010).
Furthermore, subpar academic performance has been found to be the greatest stress contributor. In addition, good marks were found to be a source of confidence for half of the participants.
It is also interesting that high-achieving students experience greater levels of anxiety than average performers. This is in contrast with Stallman’s (2010) findings that as anxiety increases, there is a significant decrease in GPA.
Most of the students accessed the library followed closely by learning centres. On the other hand, the least specified used resource was the FYEC. This could be due to the fact that they feel hesitant to ask for

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