Computer anxiety in nursing students

The purpose of the study was to estimate the prevalence and severity of computer anxiety in beginning AD and BS nursing students and to determine the effect of hands-on computer experience on computer anxiety. The sample consisted of 272 volunteer subjects from five schools of nursing in a central southern state. Computer anxiety was measured using the Computer Anxiety Index by Maurer and Simonson. Factor analysis of the index was carried out to provide construct validity for the tool. Twenty-one percent of the subjects were found to have high computer anxiety. No significant difference in computer anxiety was demonstrated between associate degree (AD) and baccalaureate (BS) students. However, subjects with more hands-on computer experience had significantly less computer anxiety.