Abstract:

The aim of this study was to examine the predictive effect of Covid-19 fear on exam anxiety among adolescents who were preparing for the university national exam in Turkey. A total of 368 adolescents (54.9% females) whose ages ranged between 16 and 20 years (mean = 17.61, SD = 1.45) participated in the study. Fear of Covid-19 Scale, Test Anxiety Inventory, and Personal Information Form were used to collect the data. Correlation analysis showed that there was a positive relationship between the Covid-19 fear and test anxiety. Independent sample t-test analysis indicated that females reported significantly higher levels of Covid-19 fear and test anxiety than males. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that Covid-19 fear significantly predicted test anxiety after controlling for the effects of age and gender by explaining an additional 7% of the variance in test anxiety. The results suggest that adolescents who experience high Covid-19 fear are more likely to experience test anxiety during pandemic. These results are important in terms of preparing programs aimed at improving the ability of coping with fear of Covid-19 and test anxiety among adolescents preparing for exams in the face of adversity.

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