Nursing students' test anxiety and academic self-efficacy, dishonesty and performance: A structural equation model

Daniel Joseph E Berdida; Rizal Angelo N Grande; Amr M Mohamed; Modi Al-Moteri; Reem Ali Hofan Alshamrani; Naif A Alanezi

doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2025.106804

Nursing students' test anxiety and academic self-efficacy, dishonesty and performance: A structural equation model

Nurse Educ Today. 2025 Jun 7:153:106804. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2025.106804. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Daniel Joseph E Berdida¹, Rizal Angelo N Grande², Amr M Mohamed³, Modi Al-Moteri⁴, Reem Ali Hofan Alshamrani⁵, Naif A Alanezi⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nursing, North Private College of Nursing, Arar, Northern Border, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: daniel@nec.edu.sa.
² Department of Nursing, Fakeeh College for Medical Sciences, Jeddah, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: rgrande@fcms.edu.sa.
³ Preparatory Department, North Private College of Nursing, Arar, Northern Border, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Medical Surgical Nursing Department, College of Nursing, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: m.motairy@tu.edu.sa.
⁵ Preparatory Department, North Private College of Nursing, Arar, Northern Border, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: reem@nec.edu.sa.
⁶ Preparatory Department, North Private College of Nursing, Arar, Northern Border, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: naefayfan@nec.edu.sa.

PMID: 40505156
DOI: 10.1016/j.nedt.2025.106804

Abstract

Aims: To investigate the interrelationships among test anxiety, academic self-efficacy, academic dishonesty, and academic performance.

Background: Students' test anxiety and its adverse impacts on academic performance is well-documented globally. However, this study is the first to examine the mediating role of academic self-efficacy between test anxiety and academic dishonesty.

Design: Cross-sectional-correlational design.

Methods: Nursing students (n = 521) were consecutively recruited to participate from October 2024 to January 2025. Three standardized scales were used to collect data and were analyzed using covariance-based structural equation modeling.

Results: Test anxiety was negatively correlated with academic self-efficacy (β = -0.38, p = 0.001) and academic performance (β = -0.24, p = 0.001) while positively associated with academic dishonesty (β = -0.51, p = 0.001). Academic self-efficacy was negatively correlated with academic dishonesty (β = -0.13, p = 0.012). Academic self-efficacy mediated between test anxiety and academic dishonesty (β = 0.05, p = 0.016). The estimated variance of academic self-efficacy was 14.79 %, which was explained by test anxiety, while academic dishonesty had a variance of 31.48 %, measured by both test anxiety and academic self-efficacy. Finally, academic performance had an estimated variance of 5.86 % explained by test anxiety only.

Conclusion: Nursing students' test anxiety depletes their academic self-efficacy and academic performance while intensifying academic dishonesty. Academic self-efficacy mitigates academic dishonesty and demonstrates a mediating role between test anxiety and academic dishonesty.

Keywords: Academic dishonesty; Academic performance; Academic self-efficacy; Nursing students; Test anxiety.