ABSTRACT
Resumen. La ansiedad a la estadística se define como un conjunto de reacciones emocionales que generan incomodidad en el individuo, como preocupación excesiva, ideas intrusivas y tensión al asistir a una asignatura que involucre estadística o análisis estadísticos. Para su medición, se han diseñado distintos instrumentos; el más usado es la Statistical Anxiety Rating Scale (STARS). El objetivo del presente estudio fue adaptar y validar la escala STARS en una muestra colombiana para explorar sus propiedades psicométricas. Participaron 357 estudiantes universitarios con edades entre los 18 y 36 años (M= 19.19, DE = 1.87). Los resultados evidencian que las subescalas de la STARS muestran excelentes niveles de fiabilidad; el análisis factorial confirma la estructura de seis dimensiones y se reporta una validez concurrente importante. Se recomienda su uso para investigación y como herramienta para la toma de decisiones en procesos de acompañamiento académico en universidades.
Abstract. Statistics anxiety is defined as a set of emotional reactions that generate discomfort in the students, such as excessive worry, intrusive ideas and tension when they attending a course that involves statistics or statistical analysis. For its measurement, different instruments have been designed; the most used is the Statistical Anxiety Rating Scale (STARS). The objective of the present study was to adapt and validate the STARS in a Colombian sample to explore its psychometric properties. A total of 357 university students with ages between 18 and 36 years participated (X = 19.19, D.E. = 1.87). The results show that the subscales of the STARS show excellent levels of reliability; factor analysis confirms the six-dimensional structure and important concurrent validity is reported. It is recommended for research and as a tool for decision making in academic support processes in universities.
ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the extent of statistics anxiety and explore its influencing factors among university students majoring in medicine.Methods:The statistics anxiety rating scale (STARS) was first translated into Chinese and modified until the reliability and validity were acceptable. Through online questionnaire, the Chinese version of STARS was used to measure the level of statistics anxiety for students enrolling in the course of Medical Statistics during autumn term 2018 to spring term 2019 in the medical college of a university. The collected data were managed and analyzed by SPSS 25.0.Results:A total of 562 students took part in the survey, and 500 questionnaires were eligible and included in the final analysis. The measurement of Chinese version of STARS showed quite good reliability and validity, with item score of the whole scale being (2.31 ± 0.65) points. The proportions of students with mild, moderate and severe statistics anxiety were 41%, 56% and 3% respectively. Female students had higher extent of anxiety than male students, and undergraduates had higher extent of anxiety than postgraduates. The extent of anxiety of students with different majors from high to low were nursing > (dentistry, basic medicine and pharmacology) > (clinic medicine and public health) respectively. When controlling other factors, the influence of gender, student level and major on statistics anxiety was still statistically significant.Conclusion:Statistics anxiety is prevalent in medical college students. Professional teachers should pay more attention to students' psychological status, conduct targeted counseling to alleviate students' anxiety and help them to improve self-efficacy in statistics learning.