A cross-sectional examination of the relationship between learning environment and anxiety among dental hygiene students

Objective: This study's purpose was to determine if the learning environment impacts student anxiety in a dental hygiene program by evaluating the two main learning environments: the dental clinic and the traditional classroom. This study also examined educational tasks and their association with anxiety in each learning environment. Methods: A web-based survey was conducted using a convenience sample of dental hygiene students enrolled in a two or four year CODA-accredited dental hygiene program in the United States. The Beck Anxiety Inventory was used to determine each participant's anxiety levels in both learning environments. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, correlation, and an analysis of variance. Results: According to the Beck Anxiety Inventory scoring, dental hygiene students experience a moderate level of anxiety when learning in the dental clinic and a low level of anxiety when learning in the classroom. Nervousness was the most reported anxiety symptom in both the dental clinic and the traditional classroom. Test results from the Spearman correlation show that all dental clinic and classroom educational tasks have a significant correlation (p < 0.01) to a student's anxiety level. Anxiety reported by students did not statistically differ by the year in which they were in the dental hygiene program. Conclusion: Findings suggest anxiety does exist at a moderate level in dental hygiene students. The dental clinic learning environment is associated with greater anxiety among dental hygiene students. Results from this study will be beneficial in understanding how to facilitate student success in a dental hygiene program.