“A Comparative Study of Anxiety among University

Students”
A

DISSERTATION
SUBMITTED FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARTS

IN

PSYCHOLOGY
SESSION – 2021-22

SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BY

DR. AMITA TRIPATHI RACHNA DEVI

th
Head/In-Charge M.A. IV SEMESTER
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY ROLL NO. :

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
JAGADGURU RAMBHADRACHARYA DIVYANG UNIVERSITY
CHITRAKOOT (U.P.) 210204
 CHAPTER – 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION
(a) Anxiety
(b) Meaning and Definition
(c) Types of Anxiety
(d) Influence of Anxiety
(e) Factors affecting Anxiety
1.2 SIGNIFICANT OF THE STUDY
1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
1.4 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF THE TERMS
1.5 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1.6 HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY
1.7 VARIABLES OF STUDY
1.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

CHAPTER - 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

CHAPTER – 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 POPULATION
3.2 SAMPLE
3.3 METHOD OF STUDY
3.4 SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

3.5 TOOLS
3.6 STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES

CHAPTER – 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

CHAPTER – 5 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER

STUDY

5.1 CONCLUSIONS
5.2 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY

 DATA
 REFERENCES
 DECLARATION

I Rachna Devi, the candidate, here by, declare that the

dissertation entitled “A Comparative Study of Anxiety among

University Students” is the result of my own study carried out in

partial fulfillment for award of the degree of M.A. (PSYCHOLOGY),

session 2021-22 in J.R.D.University, Chitrakoot under the

supervision of Dr. Amita Tripathi, In-charge/Head, Department of

Psychology, and has not been submitted earlier at any University or

institution for any other Diploma or degree.

Date……………….. Rachna Devi

Place -Chitrakoot (U.P.)

M.A IVth Semester
Psychology
 Dr. Amita Tripathi

Head/In-charge Jagadguru Rambhadracharya

Senior Asstt. Professor Divyang University
Department of Psychology Chitrakoot (U.P.) 210204
Life Member
National Academy of Psychology

Phone:05198-224481 Fax : 05198-224293 Email.com : jrhuniversity@yahoo.com

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Rachna Devi, M.A. IVth Semester
(Psychology), 2021-22 has completed her dissertation entitled “A
Comparative Study of Anxiety among University Students” under
my Supervision and guidance.
Her dissertation is her own piece of work. Now it is fit for
submission in partial Fulfillment for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS
in Psychology.

Date:
Place: Chitrakoot (U.P.) Dr. Amita Tripathi

Head/In-charge
 ACKNOWLEGEMENT

I Would like to express my fullest obligation to Guruji Swami

Rambhadracharya Ji, Hon’ble Chancellor J.R.D.University
Chitrakoot, whose blessings strengthen me to complete the research
work in due time.

I express my deep gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Amita

Tripathi in-charge/senior Assistant Professor, Department of
Psychology, J.R.D.University, Chitrakoot, (UP) for selecting me this
useful topic, for her stimulated guidance in completing this research,
and always boosting my confidence throughout the course of
investigation.

I am also thankful to Dr. Sanjay Kumar Nayak, senior Assistant

Professor – Department of Psychology J.R.D.University Chitrakoot,
(UP) for his encouragement.

I am extremely grateful to my husband, and my family who

always motivated me.

Date : RACHNA DEVI

Place: MA IVth semester

 Chapter1

INTRODUCTION
1.1 (a) Anxiety

Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state

characterized by physical emotional, cognitive and behavioral
components. Anxiety means trouble in either presence or
absence of psychological stress. Anxiety can create a feeling of
fear, worry, uneasiness, and dread.

(b) Meaning and Definition

“The apprehension cued off by a throat to one value the

individual hold mention to his existence as a personality”
 -R. May (1950)

“Anxiety is the state of tension arising from the

experience of disapproval in interpersonal relation.”

-Sullivan1953)

According to Spiel Berger (1960), “anxiety can be defined

as state of arousal caused by thereat to wellbeing.”

Anxiety means apprehension, tension or uneasiness

charioted by fear dread or unreality about something the
source of which is largely unknown or unrecognized by the
individual, It may consist in persistent apprehensions of future
events as well as in generalized emotional reactions to any
choice point or decision Good, 1973, Breuer (1999) mentioned
that all anxiety disorders are defined by the dual
characteristics of excessive emotional fear and physiological,
hyper arousals. Anxiety is one of the most widely experienced
emotion and one of the most essential constructs of all human
behaviour. Anxiety is an excited state of nervous system as a
result of which sense of tension, nervousness and worry is
being inflicted on individual (Spill Berger, 1983), in the modern
time. It is considered as a major predictor of academic
performance (Mc Cralty, 2007 and Mc Cralty, et al, 2000).
Students with high levels of anxiety show passive attitude
towards studies, lack of concentrating and confidence, reduced
memory span and poor reasoning abilities (Aronon et al,
2005).These psychological symptoms ultimately affect the
potential to achieve good grades and significantly interferes
which the daily routine of the students too.

1.1 (C) Types of Anxiety

In general anxiety is of two types - e.g., trait anxiety and

state anxiety. Trait anxiety is a stable and general characterized
of an individual whereas state anxiety is specific aroused by
some kind of contemporary types situations and environment
with which individual is dealing (Bihari, 2014)

Putnam, 2010 defined anxiety as “a complex

psychological condition that affects various cognitive, behavior
and psychological states”

Anxiety can then be separated in to three classifications:

state an emotional condition that is temporary and initiated by
a certain experience, trait a stable aspect of one’s personality
and situation-specific (Hill and Holybook, 2000).

According to Freud, “anxiety is a painful emotional

experience, representing threat or danger to the organism”.
Freud stated three types of anxiety –

i. realistic anxiety,
 ii. neurotic anxiety,
iii. moral anxiety,

According to Spiel Berger (1962), anxiety is of two types:-

i. trait anxiety
ii. state anxiety

Some common forms or types of anxiety are as follows:

Social Anxiety- People with social anxiety experience a fear of

being in social situations and being around other people. They
might worry that people are judging them or laughing at them.
They might be worried about saying or doing the ‘Wrong’ thing
in public. People with social anxiety ming struggle in public
places such as in town, in restaurants, in the work place, at
social gatherings and in stings where they have to meet new
people. They might feel very frightened about being around
other people and may try to abide social situations or social
activities.

Specific Phobias- In a specific Phobia becomes when you very

afraid or a particular thing of situation, such as spiders, heights
of flying, even when there is no actual danger. The person
might know that he/she is not in any real danger, but still feel
intensely afraid. Specific phobias can interfere with one’s life,
for example one might not be able to sleep if there is a spider in
his/her bedroom or he/she might avoid visiting places he/she
want to go to because he/she are afraid of heights.

Sometimes specific phobias are caused by a bad

experience. For example, if you are bitten by a dog, you might
become Phobic of dogs. However, not all specific phobias have
a cause.

Separation Anxiety- People with separation anxiety have

difficulty in being away from particular people or place. For
example, someone with separation anxiety may feel anxious
when away from their parents or partner of if they are away
from their homes.

It normal to feel a little nervous being away from people

we know, especially if you are not used to this. It is also
perfectly normal for some people to find it hard to be away
from home, especially if they are away for quite some time. An
example of this would be people who feel ‘Homesick’ when
away from home. It becomes a problem when we are leaving
people or places we are familiar with and stops us going out or
taking part in activities faint.

In some people the physical effects create a cycle, making

the person feel more afraid which causes the physical
symptoms to get worse.
 It is important to remember that a panic attack will
always pass and is not harmful or dangerous. A panic attack
usually passes after a few minutes, although in can take a bit
longer for the anxiety to go away completely.

Sometimes panic attacks have an obvious cause, for

example, being in a crowded place. However, some panic
attacks have no clear cause and are part of the person’s wider
experience or anxiety.

Generalized Anxiety- Generalized Anxiety is when someone

feels fear and extreme nervousness most of the time that does
not have a specific cause. People with generalized anxiety
might worry about different areas of this life such as work,
relationships and health, even when there is nothing wrong, or
they might simply feel anxious a lot of the time without
worrying about anything specific.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder- people with Obsessive

Compulsive Disorder have persistent thoughts (or ‘obsessions’)
and fears that are overwhelming. They deal with these feelings
by taking part in repetitive behaviors (or ‘compulsions’). An
example would be someone who is constantly afraid of germs
so repeatedly washes things to get rid of these germs and
avoids things they believe to be ‘dirty’ like public toilets, even
if they really need to go. Another example is people who are so
afraid of losing things of throwing things away that they hoard
them to the extent that their home may be very untidy and full
of items they don’t actually need.

For some people, obsessive compulsive disorder can take the

form of persistent negative thoughts, such as constantly
wanting to say or do inappropriate things. People may be so
afraid of acting on these thoughts that they are too scared to
leave their home.

Panic attacks- A Panic attack is when someone suddenly

develops feelings of intense fear which causes them to
experience physical effects such as rapid heard rate,
breathlessness, dizziness and shaking. They might feel like they
can’t breathe.

1.1 (d) Influence of Anxiety

It plays a crucial role in human life because all of us are the

victim of anxiety in different ways. Anxiety is one of the
determinants of human behavior, it is most likely to arise
internal response or behavior that conflict with the satisfaction
of other needs. The concept of anxiety is utilized for explaining
many psychological problems and has become useful construct
in the field of psychology It motivates students to study.

I.1 (e) Factors affecting anxiety-

I. Socio economic status
II. Urban and natural life
 III. Frustration
IV. Emotionality
V. Family environment
VI. School environment
VII. Health
VIII. Intelligence
IX. Gender
X. Self-concept
XI. Inferiority feeling
XII. Educational achievement
1.1 SIGNIFICANT OF THE PRESENT STUDY

Anxiety is a global problem affecting mainly children and

adults. The present study is very important because will be
able to find out the level of anxiety among students. The
present study will also investigate whether there is difference
in the level of anxiety between male and female university
students.

So, the present study will be very useful in providing

guidance and counseling to high anxiety suffering students.

1.2 STAEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The researcher has thus, selected the following the

research problem:
 A comparative study of Anxiety among University
students.

1.3 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF THE TERMS-

1. Anxiety is defined in terms of Sinha’s Comprehensive
Anxiety Test (SCAT-ss).
2. University students have been defined as male and
female students studying in the universities of Chitrakoot.
1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main objective of the present study is to find out the

difference between anxiety of male and female university
students.

1.5 HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY

NULL HYPOTHESIS:-

‘There is no significant difference between anxiety scores of

male and female university students.”

1.6 VARIABLES OF STUDY

Independent Variable

The Independent Variable (I.V) used in this study is Anxiety.

Dependent variable

The Dependent Variable (D.V) is male and female university

students.
Control Variables-

1. Age–students in the age range of 18 to 21 years have been

taken for this study.
2. Education-only UG and B.Ed. class students have been
selected for this study.
1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
1. The present study is limited to Chitrakoot District only.
2. The present study is further limited only to the age-group
18 to 21 years of students.
 Chapter 2

Review of Related literature

Thergaonkar and Wadkar (2007) studied the relationship

between test anxiety and parenting style and found that there
was a significant negative correlation between test anxiety and
democratic attitude of parents and acceptance of parents.
Statistically significant negative correlations were a also
observed between to worry and emotionality components of
test anxiety and democratic attitudes of parents worry rather
Thant the emotionality components of test anxiety had a
statistically significant negative correlation with acceptance of
parents. There was no statistically significant correlation
between test anxiety and attitude and expectation of mother
towards their child’s academics and gender stereotypes
perception of mother regarding academics.
Singaravelu (2009) studied the test anxiety and academic
achievement in mathematics of high school students. They
study found that the relationship between test anxiety and
scholastic achievement in mathematics of high school students.
The study found that the higher the test anxiety lesser was the
academic achievement in mathematics and vice-versa. No
significant difference was found in relationships between test
anxiety and academic achievement in mathematics of boys and
girls. Also it was found the difference in the relationships
between test anxiety and academic achievement in
mathematics of rural and urban school student was not
significant.
Yusuph (2016) investigated the courses and effect of anxiety
on the academic performance of secondary students of domed
Tanzania. The results revealed that the major course of anxiety
among students was corporal punishment followed by school
milieu and potentials (capabilities) of the students and
significant number of the students is affected by it moreover,
there was an inverse relationship between anxiety and
academic performance. Girls were more prone to anxiety as
compared to boys.
Banga (2016) carried out a study to find out the levels of
anxiety amount 400 senior secondary bonus and girls of
Himachal Pradesh. Findings of the study clearly showed that
significant difference existed in the levels of anxiety between
boys and girls; girls were more prone to anxiety than that of
boys.
Singh (2015) conducted a study on the impact of anxiety on
academic achievement and found that moderate and low levels
of anxiety among students were positively correlated with the
academic achievement. High level of anxiety was negatively
correlated. Female students showed higher level of anxiety as
compared to the male students.
Kumar and Kumar (2014) investigated the relationship
between academic anxiety and academic achievement. In their
study on senior secondary students they reported a negative
and significant relationship between anxiety and academic
achievement. Moreover, it was also reported that girls were
more effected by anxiety that boys.
Neelam (2013) conducted study on academic achievement of
secondary school having differential levels of academic anxiety
and reported that achievement is inversely related to academic
anxiety i.e. those students who had high level of anxiety
showed poor academic achievement moreover girls were
better in academic achievement and showed high degrees of
anxiety than boys.
Anson, ‘a’ Bernstein j, and hob full S.E. (1984) found that
anxiety was significantly and negatively correlated with grades
obtained by the students.
Sharma and sub (1990) found that female students experience
higher levels of test anxiety than do males. Mnicholas and
Lewiersohr (1998) indicated that at age 6, females are already
twice more likely to have experienced anxiety disorders then
males.
Sridebvi (2013) reported a negative low correlation between
general anxiety and academic achievement and an inverse
relationship between general anxiety and academic
achievement. Several researchers have found that school
students with higher level of anxiety have lower academic
performance (Rana and Mahmood 2012, Hamzah, 2007, Luigi,
et at, 2007; MansorJahari and Redzuan 2010 begun and
Phukan 2001 Yun 2001 Kaur and gill 1993Agarwa; 1983 and
Ching (2011) cited in Karthigeyan and Nirmala (2012).
 CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

2.1 POPULATION

The population of the present study consisted of all the

university students of 18 to 21 years age of district Chitrakoot
(U.P.).

2.2 SAMPLE

The sample of the present study consisted of 50 males

and 50 females in the age group 18 to 21 years age of the
Chitrakoot District.

PLAN FOR SAMPLE SELECTION

Male Female
50 50

2.3 METHOD OF STUDY

Survey method was used for data collection.

2.4 SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

The Purposive Sampling Technique was used for
collection of data.
2.5 TOOLS

Sinha Comprehensive Anxiety Test (SCAT-ss) by

A.K.P.Sinha and L.N.K.Sinha was used for this Study.

2.6 Statistical Techniques

Mean and SD were calculated to see the difference between

groups and critical ratio (CRs) were calculated to see the
significant difference if any between groups.
 CHAPTER 4

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Students N Mean SD CR Point of Significant

Male 50 32.2 50.79 29.52 Significant at 0.01 level
Female 50 21.26 24.11

Table 1

Showing Mean, SD and CR of Anxiety Scores of Male and Female students.

Table 1 shows the mean difference between male and

female students. The table shows that mean value of Anxiety
scores of male students is 32.2 and 21.26 of the females. It
shows a little difference. To see whether these differences are
significant, CR value was calculated. It is clear from table-1 that
CR value of Anxiety scale of male and female is 29.52 which is
significant at 0.01 level .The value required to be significant at
0.01 level is 2.36.The obtained value is 29.52, so we can say
that there is significant difference between the Anxiety scores
of males and females.

Thus, Gender has significantly influenced Anxiety. So, our

Null Hypothesis that “there is no significant difference between
Anxiety of male and Female University students” is therefore,
rejected.
 CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER STUDY

5.3 CONCLUSIONS
1. Gender has significantly affected Anxiety of university
students.
2. Female have less Anxiety compared to males.
5.4 Suggestions for further study
1. Further study may be conducted with large population and
sample size may be increased for getting generalization more
accurate.
2. In the further study some variables like socio-economic status,
caste, arts vs. science stream, etc. may be included.
3. Anxiety and its impact on mental health, academic
performance, self esteem etc. may be studied for future
research.
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