Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the Academic Anxiety Scale (AAS)

Anxiety is one of the basic problems of students that can cause significant psychological and emotional harm to students. The Academic anxiety scale (AAS) is a self-report scale for measuring academic anxiety that measures the tendency of individuals to experience test anxiety with 11 items. The present study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the AAS in an Iranian sample.

The research method employed a descriptive approach, and the research sample consisted of 690 students (356 girls and 334 boys) from the second secondary school level in Tehran schools during the academic year 2024-2025. The students were selected non-randomly and responded to the research instrument.

To examine the reliability and internal consistency of the AAS, CR and Cronbach's alpha coefficient were used, and the results showed that this scale has appropriate internal consistency and CR. Also, the face validity and content validity of the questionnaire were evaluated and confirmed. Construct validity was also determined and confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for this questionnaire. To evaluate convergent validity (CV), the CR and the average variance extracted (AVE) method were used, and the correlation of the AAS with the test anxiety questionnaire, big five personality questionnaire, and beck depression inventory was examined. The results showed that the AAS's CR was 0.887. Correlation matrix analysis of the study variables showed that the AAS has a significant correlation with Test anxiety (r = 0.686, p < 0.01), the beck depression (r = 0.755, p < 0.01), and the big five personality factors (neuroticism (r = 0.369, p < 0.01), agreeableness (r = -0.341, p < 0.01), conscientiousness (r = -0.119, p < 0.01), extraversion (r = -0.267, p < 0.01), openness (r = -0.137, p < 0.01)).

Overall, the results of the study showed that this scale has favorable psychometric properties in the Iranian sample and can be used with confidence in Iranian samples.This study evaluates the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the AAS among Iranian high school students. A sample of 690 students participated. Results from reliability and validity analyses, including Cronbach's alpha and CFA, confirmed the scale's strong internal consistency, construct validity, and CV. The AAS showed significant correlations with test anxiety, depression, and big five personality traits. Findings suggest the AAS is a reliable tool for assessing academic anxiety in Iranian adolescents.