Examination of the Relationship Among Different Dimensions of Trait Anxiety, Demographic Variables, and Self-Reported School Adjustment in Elementary and Secondary School Students

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the relationship among different dimensions of trait anxiety (social concerns, physiological anxiety, and worry/oversensitivity), demographic variables (age and gender), and school adjustment (attitude to school and attitude to teachers) in children and adolescents. The study participants, consisting of 206 children and adolescents (100 males and 106 females), ages 9 to 19, in grades 4 through 12, completed several self-report measures of anxiety and school adaptation. Results of two multiple-regression analyses revealed that (a) the social concerns dimension of trait anxiety and age were significant predictors of attitude to teachers and (b) the dimensions of social concerns and physiological anxiety, and gender were significant predictors of attitude to school. Implications of the findings for school personnel are discussed.