Test Anxiety and Coping Strategies Among Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

This study aimed to examine the level of test anxiety among nursing students in Saudi Arabia and to identify the coping strategies they use when facing pre-exam anxiety and uncertainty.

A cross-sectional design was employed. Participants were recruited using convenience sampling. Data were collected from nursing students enrolled in regular and bridging programmes at a Saudi nursing college using a self-administered questionnaire. Test anxiety was assessed using the Westside Test Anxiety Scale (WTAS), and coping strategies were measured using the Coping with Pre-Exam Anxiety and Uncertainty (COPEAU) scale. Descriptive statistics and independent-samples t-tests were conducted to examine anxiety levels, coping patterns and differences between the regular and bridging programmes.

A total of 199 nursing students participated in the study. Overall, students demonstrated a moderate level of test anxiety, with cognitive worry, memory concerns and post-exam performance anxiety emerging as the most prominent symptoms. Regarding coping strategies, students predominantly relied on task-oriented and preparation-focused approaches, reflecting strong engagement in planning, organisation and focused effort towards examinations. Seeking social support was also commonly utilised, indicating the importance of emotional and informational resources in managing exam-related stress. In contrast, avoidance strategies were less strongly endorsed.

Nursing students in Saudi Arabia experience moderate test anxiety but predominantly adopt adaptive coping strategies, particularly task-oriented preparation and social support. These findings highlight the protective role of constructive coping behaviours in managing academic stress. Integrating structured exam preparation training, stress management programmes and accessible support services within nursing curricula is recommended to reduce cognitive worry and enhance students' academic resilience and psychological well-being.

These study findings can directly inform nursing education and student support. Embedding structured exam-preparation and test-taking skills, evidence-based stress-management and relaxation training and routine screening for elevated test anxiety within the curriculum may help reduce cognitive worry and memory-related concerns. Peer-support services, accessible counselling and academic advising, can reinforce the adaptive, task-oriented and social-support coping that students already favour and strengthen their academic resilience and psychological well-being.

No patient or public contribution.