The effect of test anxiety on IQ test performance, achievement, and self-concept in elementary schoolchildren

Bibliography: pages 141-168.IQ test performance of elementary schoolchildren was investigated as a function of two levels of test anxiety and two types of IQ measure. IQ measures used, the New South African Group Test (NSAGT) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised (WISC-R) were assumed to vary in anxiety-provoking cues on cognitive-attentional theoretical grounds. The hypothesis tested was that high test anxiety would lower performance on the NSAGT, but not the WISC-R. The performance of children varying in test anxiety but equivalent in intelligence was then compared at different IQ levels with the hypothesis that high-test anxious children would perform less well at each level. Academic achievement and self-concept of these children were also investigated, with the hypotheses that high-test-anxious children would be lower in both than low-test-anxious children of equivalent intelligence. The Test Anxiety Scale for Children, the Defensiveness Scale for Children and the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale were administered to all Standard 4 pupils at two white, English-language, co-educational schools in middle-class suburbs. Highly defensive children were eliminated; the top and bottom 20% of the test anxiety distribution formed the experimental groups, high-test-anxious (HA; n=28) and low-test-anxious (LA; n=27) who were tested blind, in random order, on the WISC-R NSAGT and achievement data were obtained from school records and subjects assigned to High, Medium and Low IQ levels based on NSAGT scores. Analysis of variance indicated that HA children obtained significantly lower IQ scores independent of type of IQ measure

Adaptive working memory training can reduce anxiety and depression vulnerability in adolescents

Adolescents can be at heightened risk for anxiety and depression, with accumulating research reporting on associations between anxiety and depression and cognitive impairments, implicating working memory and attentional control deficits. Several studies now point to the promise of adaptive working memory training to increase attentional control in depressed and anxious participants and reduce anxiety and depression symptoms, but this has not been explored in a non-clinical adolescent population. The current study explored the effects of adaptive dual n-back working memory training on sub-clinical anxiety and depression symptomology in adolescents. Participants trained on either an online adaptive working memory task or non-adaptive control task for up to 20 days. Primary outcome measures were self-reported anxiety and depression symptomology, before and after intervention, and at 1-month follow-up. Self-reported depression (p = .003) and anxiety (p = .04) decreased after training in the adaptive n-back group relative to the non-adaptive control group in the intention-to-treat sample (n = 120). These effects were sustained at follow-up. Our findings constitute proof of principle evidence that working memory training may help reduce anxiety and depression vulnerability in a non-clinical adolescent population. We discuss the findings’ implications for reducing risk of internalising disorders in youth and the need for replication

A review of the academic and psychological impact of the transition to secondary education

The transition from primary to secondary education is one of the most stressful events in a young person’s life (Zeedyk et al., 2003) and can have a negative impact on psychological wellbeing and academic achievement. One explanation for these negative impacts is that the transition coincides with early adolescence, a period during which certain psychological disorders (i.e., anxiety disorders) become more salient (Kessler et al., 2005) and marked social, biological, and psychological development occurs (Anderson, Jacobs, Schramm, & Splittgerber, 2000). This review evaluates the existing literature on the psychological and academic impacts of the transition to secondary education on young adolescents. We examine the factors that plausibly increase or mitigate the risk of developing mental health issues and/or a decline in academic performance during the transition to secondary education. We also review the interplay between psychological health and academic achievement across and beyond the transition. We conclude with a summary of what schools and parents can learn from these findings to support children in a successful transition into secondary education

A multicomponent treatment programme for text-anxious elementary schoolchildren

Bibliography : pages 269-283.The efficacy was assessed of multicomponent treatment in reducing test anxiety, and improving self-concept and examination performance, in test-anxious elementary schoolchildren. A core programme was devised, comprising three components: systematic desensitization, cognitive restructuring and informal study skills training. Two further components, one each for teachers and parents were added, giving a 'contextualised' programme. Three complementary studies compared either the contextualised programme with a no-treatment, non-identified, control condition (Study 1: n = 40; Study 3: n = 24), or the core programme with an attention-placebo control condition (Study 2: n = 26). It was hypothesised that Studies 1 and 3 would show significant between-group differences at post-test, with experimental subjects showing a significant decline in test anxiety and gains in achievement and self-concept. In Study 2, no significant between-group differences were hypothesised: subjects receiving the core treatment or attention-placebo programme being expected to show a similar degree of reduction in test anxiety and gain in self-concept, but no improvement in achievement

The role of attention in learning for pupils with and without autism

In this thesis, an in-depth investigation into the relationship between attention abilities and learning in primary school aged children with and without an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) was conducted. This investigation began using standardised assessments of attention and academic achievement to enable the measurement of abilities while taking age into account (Study 1). Divided attention was related to reading and maths for autistic pupils and played a role in defining different profiles of achievement. Subgroups of children with better or poorer divided attention showed different within-domain strengths and in reading and maths. Further analysis revealed that similar profiles existed transdiagnostically, highlighting the importance of considering ASD alongside TD children, as opposed to between groups. To consider the real-world manifestation of these relationships, Study 2 used measures that represented classroom-based attention and learning. This included eye tracking as a real-time attention measure, videos of short lessons to stimulate learning, and a computer-based measure of attention abilities. Sustained attention was transdiagnostically important for attending to relevant information during a lesson (i.e. looking at the teacher), and for learning from that lesson. Autistic children benefited from allocating visual attention to the teacher during lessons, but this was not true for TD children. Several autistic children could not successfully complete the eye-tracking task, and an initial investigation suggested that this was due to differences in cognitive ability and behaviour. This indicated the importance of considering within group heterogeneity, as well as other factors at play. The final two studies therefore aimed to consider the role of other factors impacting on the relationship between attention and learning in ASD, beginning with a qualitative exploration in a real-world context (Study 3). Semi-structured interviews with teachers revealed the complexity of this relationship, with a particular focus on the roles of anxiety and sensory processing difficulties. Study 4 investigated these factors quantitatively using parent-report measures of anxiety and sensory processing, which ultimately reinforced the findings of Study 3. In ASD, increased levels of anxiety were related to poorer divided attention and reading achievement, suggesting both anxiety and attention play an important role for children while learning in the classroom. Sensory processing symptoms played an indirect role, as they were related to anxiety in ASD, but not attention or achievement. Taken together, this mixed methods thesis provided a rich and comprehensive understanding of the relationship between attention and learning in ASD. Throughout the thesis, the theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed, in addition to suggestions for accounting for heterogeneity in both attention and learning in this group