The Tripartite Structure of Preparation Anxiety: Development and Validation of the Preparation Anxiety Scale

Research suggests that anxiety predicts student performance, and that this relationship is mediated at least in part through self-defeating behavior. However, the nature of this relationship has yet to be fully understood. While substantial research has characterized the ways that anxiety affects student performance directly, at the point where it occurs (e.g., test anxiety, stage anxiety), less research has addressed the ways anxiety affects student performance indirectly, as students prepare for a performance. The first type is commonly referred to as performance anxiety. We refer to the second as preparation anxiety, and suggest that it is a necessary counterpoint, and that the relationship between anxiety and student outcomes cannot be fully understood without it. In the present study, we seek to characterize preparation anxiety, distinguishing it from performance anxiety and developing a scale to measure it: The Preparation Anxiety Scale (PAS). We report three studies, each conducted with undergraduate students at a large west-coast university: In the first study, focus groups were conducted to generate items representing the preparation anxiety construct. In the second study, exploratory factor analysis identified a 32-item, three-factor solution, with factors assessing affective nerves (PAS-AN), behavioral avoidance (PAS-BA), and cognitive agitation (PAS-CA). The scale displayed good test-retest reliability and demonstrated adequate convergent and discriminant validity. In the third study, confirmatory factor analysis supported the three-factor solution and bifactor analysis indicated a strong general factor, supporting the use of a summary score. Further analyses demonstrated both criterion and incremental validity, showing that the PAS and its subscales predict relevant behaviors (procrastination), correlates (academic self-efficacy), and outcomes (GPA) beyond other constructs. Additionally, regression analysis reveals a suppressor relationship: When the PAS-BA and PAS-AN subscales are controlled for, the PAS-CA subscale emerges as a negative predictor of procrastination and a positive predictor of academic self-efficacy.