COPING WITH PRE-EXAM ANXIETY AND UNCERTAINTY SCALE: PSYCHOMETRIC EVIDENCE IN BRAZIL
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Abstract
During the permanence of students in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) it is common for them to take exams that are applied such as tests of acquired skills and abilities, and the phenomenon of exam anxiety is experienced, when evaluative situations are perceived as a threat. Thus, the individual adopts coping strategies to regulate anxiety levels and regarding this, the present study seeks to investigate the different types of coping strategies adopted by university students before an exam. In order to do so, this research aimed to adapt and gather psychometric evidence from the Coping with Pre-Exam Anxiety and Uncertainty (COPEAU) scale in the Brazilian context. Therefore, two studies were carried out with students from Brazilian HEIs, the first study with 683 participants (Mage 22,51, SD = 5.60) to evaluate the factorial structure of the measure, and the second with 530 participants (Mage 21,37, SD = 4.39) to assess the adequacy of the model and examine the convergent validity of COPEAU, in which was considered the German Test Inventory (TAI-G) and the Cognitive Test and Anxiety Scale (CTAS). The results indicated, through parallel analysis, a three-factor solution that explains 31% of total variance, with 20 items with factor loading ≥ 0.40 and evidence that testify the scale precision through Cronbach's coefficient alpha equal to 0.80 and McDonald's omega equal to 0.83. In the second study, the three-factor model with 20 items showed adequate adjustment (χ²/gl = 3.08; CFI = 0.92; TLI = 0.91; RMSEA = 0.07), reliability in each factor was assured through Cronbach's alpha that varied from 0.76 to 0.85 and McDonald's omega from 0.82 to 0.92, besides having been found evidence of convergent validity with TAI-G and CTAS, that evaluated different dimensions of test anxiety. Hence, it is concluded that the psychometric properties found support the use of COPEAU to evaluate coping strategies in the face of anxiety and uncertainty before exams in brazilian students and the adequacy of a three-factor structure composed of 20 items.
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