Menstrual attitude dimensions, Anxiety and Body Esteem in adolescent girls.

One of the horrifying experiences that adolescent girls endure is menstruation. Understanding how some individual-related factors affect menstrual attitudes has substantial implications for coping with difficulties that come with it. We tested the direct and interactive effect of anxiety and body esteem dimensions (attribution, weight & appearance) on dimensions of menstrual attitudes (debilitating, bothersome, natural, prediction & denial) among adolescent girls in Ibadan, Nigeria. This is a cross- sectional survey of 276 secondary schools girls aged 12-19 years (M= 14.89, SD= 1.46). Multivariate Analysis of Variance results revealed adolescent girls with lower anxiety reported positive menstrual attitude by anticipating the onset of menstruation. Body esteem-appearance directly influenced both debilitating and bothersome dimensions of menstrual attitude; suggesting girls with higher body esteem for appearance positively accept menstrual experience as weakening and inconvenient. Interactively, anxiety and appearance dimension of body esteem influenced prediction dimension; likewise anxiety, weight and attribution dimensions of body esteem. It is concluded that body esteem and less anxiety are important for adolescent girls' positive menstrual attitudinal change. Thus, reduced apprehension and high self-respect for body appearance and weight are recommended for accepting menstruation as a normal bodily function occurrence during a woman's reproductive lifespan.

Test Anxiety and Academic Performance among Undergraduates: The Moderating Role of Achievement Motivation.

This study investigated the moderating role of achievement motivation in the relationship between test anxiety and academic performance. Three hundred and ninety three participants (192 males and 201 females) selected from a public university in Ondo State, Nigeria using a purposive sampling technique, participated in the study. They responded to measures of test anxiety and achievement motivation. Three hypotheses were tested using moderated hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Results showed that test anxiety had a negative impact on academic performance (ß = -.23; p < .05). Achievement motivation had a positive impact on academic performance (ß = .38; p < .05). Also, achievement motivation significantly moderated the relationship between test anxiety and academic performance (ß = .10; p < .01). These findings suggest that university management should design appropriate psycho-educational interventions that would enhance students' achievement motivation.