Predictive Value of Academic Anxiety for Academic Achievement of University Students

AbstractAcademic anxiety is a well-known concept. Usually when students transit from on institution to another, they have both positive and negative feelings. The uncertainty of a new academic environment may provoke anxious feelings. These feelings may affect student’s academic achievement. This research paper intended to investigate whether or not academic anxiety and academic achievement of university students are related. Also, the predictability of academic anxiety for academic achievement was intended to be measured. A survey was conducted on 150 students who were enrolled in the first semester of Pre-service teacher training programs in the Institute of Education, University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Data was collected through Academic Anxiety Questionnaire. It was found that academic anxiety significantly correlates with academic achievement of the students and the correlation is negative. Students having low scores on academic anxiety showed better results than the students with high scores on academic anxiety. It was also found that academic anxiety significantly predicts academic achievement and its behavioural and physiological components accounted for significant variance. Key words: Academic Anxiety, Behavioural Component, Cognitive Component, Physiological Component, Emotional Component, Academic Achievement