Sense of Coherence, Coping Strategies, and Test Anxiety as Predictors of Test Performance Among College Students

The study tested sense of coherence (SOC; Antonovsky, 1987), coping strategies, and test anxiety as predictors of test performance in 216 1st-year undergraduates. The students attended 3 obligatory courses and completed inventories assessing SOC, coping, and test anxiety during the final session of the 2nd semester; their grades on the final examination were recorded. The results showed SOC to be negatively related to test anxiety, whereas emotion-focused coping and avoidance were positively related to it. Problem-focused coping contributed positively to performance on the test, and avoidance coping adversely affected test grades. The data suggest that test anxiety is minimally associated with performance grades, and the 2 measures are related somewhat differentially to coping strategies and SOC.