Exploring the psychometric properties of the French revised test anxiety + regulatory scale in Swiss secondary school students

Abstract

Test anxiety used to be conceptualized as composed of negative dimensions (i.e., Worry, Test-irrelevant thinking, Bodily symptoms, Tension). Recently, some authors introduced a positive dimension (Perceived control) in the French version of the Revised Test Anxiety scale (FRTA+R). As few data were available for French-speaking Switzerland, the aim of this study was to explore the psychometric properties of the FRTA+R in a sample of secondary school students, as well as to assess factorial invariance in order to perform latent mean comparisons. While previous studies have shown gender differences, differences across grade levels have been less explored and latent mean comparison analyses provide less biased mean estimations. Another aim was to identify profiles commonly found in the literature (i.e., low, medium and high levels) in order to assess their frequency, given that there is no adequate cut-off score. The results of this study confirmed gender differences and highlighted the frequency of test anxiety in secondary school students (especially girls and 9th graders). Furthermore, the pertinence of two dimensions of the FRTA+R is questioned, namely Test-irrelevant thinking (which would correspond more closely to the concept of "mind-wandering") and Perceived control (which would correspond more closely to the concept of academic self-efficacy). The findings contribute to the extensive body of research supporting gender differences and are also discussed in terms of practical implications and benefits of FRTA+R.