The Relationship between State-Trait Anxiety and Academic Performance among Chiropractic Students
Xiaohua He, M.D.; Niu Zhang, M.D.
Abstract
To assess the level of anxiety as well as the relationship between anxiety and academic performance among chiropractic students. A total of 461 first-quarter students were recruited. The Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was administered to all participants at the beginning of the chiropractic training program. The mean State-Anxiety (STAI-S) score and Trait-anxiety (STAI-T) score was 35.15 and 35.30 respectively. We found a statistically significant negative correlation between STAI-S scores and both the overall anatomy grades as well as the written exams scores (r=-.105 and r=-.098 respectively). A negative correlation was also found between STAIT scores with both the overall anatomy grades and lab exam scores (r=-.09 and r=-.088 respectively). The results of this study confirmed a negative relationship between anxiety and academic performance among chiropractic students. This suggests that stress and anxiety management should be incorporated into the chiropractic curriculum to for better academic outcomes.