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Behavioral Sciences
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Academic Anxieties and Coping Strategies
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Academic Anxieties and Coping Strategies

A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X). This special issue belongs to the section "Educational Psychology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 April 2026) | Viewed by 6058

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Christopher L. Thomas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Education, The University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, TX 75799, USA
Interests: test anxiety; academic anxieties; cognitive dissonance theory; emotional intelligence; coping; psychometrics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The term academic anxiety refers to a range of pre-clinical anxieties experienced by learners who question their ability to successfully navigate the demands associated with specific academic tasks and educational activities. These maladaptive affective responses have been linked to numerous problematic outcomes, including reduced academic performance, impaired information processing efficiency, and decreased well-being. Recent research exploring practical solutions for these anxieties has emphasized the importance of tailored approaches targeting emotional information processing difficulties. Specifically, empirical and theoretical work supports the utility of interventions that enhance coping potential by altering learners’ perceptions of potential academic stressors, encouraging the adoption of growth- and mastery-orientated academic goals and fostering a robust understanding of how and when to implement adaptive coping and emotion regulation strategies.

This Special Issue will expand the literature on academic anxieties and coping strategies, offering actionable insights to assist educational practitioners and researchers in effectively supporting students who are vulnerable to various forms of academic anxiety. Therefore, we welcome theoretical and empirical contributions that will advance our understanding of the key antecedents and outcomes of coping and emotion regulation strategies among academically anxious students. Additionally, we encourage submissions that present innovative developments and recent advancements in intervention approaches targeting academic anxiety.

Abstract Deadline: 15 August 2025

Notification of Abstract Acceptance: 1 September 2025

Dr. Christopher L. Thomas
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Behavioral Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • academic anxiety
  • coping strategies
  • emotion regulation
  • educational interventions
  • anxiety interventions
  • emotional information processing

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 504 KB  
Article
Academic Resilience Among Vocational High School Students in Collectivist Culture: The Role of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Academic Self-Efficacy
by Banu S. Ünsal Akbıyık, İhsan İlker Çitli and Melis Melek Kahveci
Behav. Sci. 2026, 16(4), 560; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16040560 - 8 Apr 2026
Viewed by 365
Abstract
Academic anxiety frequently emerges when students perceive academic demands as uncertain, uncontrollable, or threatening. Intolerance of uncertainty is widely recognized as a key cognitive antecedent of such anxiety, influencing how learners appraise stressors and mobilize coping resources. This study investigates the relationships among [...] Read more.
Academic anxiety frequently emerges when students perceive academic demands as uncertain, uncontrollable, or threatening. Intolerance of uncertainty is widely recognized as a key cognitive antecedent of such anxiety, influencing how learners appraise stressors and mobilize coping resources. This study investigates the relationships among intolerance of uncertainty, academic self-efficacy as a coping mechanism, and academic resilience among vocational high school students in a collectivist educational context. Data were collected from 387 vocational high school students across Istanbul, Turkey via online forms. Contrary to expectations, the results revealed that intolerance of uncertainty positively affects academic self-efficacy. Furthermore, academic self-efficacy was positively associated with academic resilience. Academic self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship between these two variables. These findings provide new insights into how uncertainty is managed in collectivist educational contexts and suggest directions for future educational practices and research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Academic Anxieties and Coping Strategies)
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22 pages, 705 KB  
Article
Identifying Learner Profiles Through Universal Screening: Academic Anxiety and Depression in Nepalese University Students
by Dev Bandhu Poudel, Jerrell C. Cassady and C. Addison Helsper
Behav. Sci. 2026, 16(4), 557; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16040557 - 8 Apr 2026
Viewed by 531
Abstract
As in other cultures, university students in Nepal struggle with significant academic pressure, which often leads to academic anxiety and depression. The current study aims to expand awareness of the presence, prevalence, and impact of student academic anxiety and depression among Nepalese university [...] Read more.
As in other cultures, university students in Nepal struggle with significant academic pressure, which often leads to academic anxiety and depression. The current study aims to expand awareness of the presence, prevalence, and impact of student academic anxiety and depression among Nepalese university students as well as to test an emerging approach to universal screening to identify learners’ need profiles to promote targeted intervention supports. Participants included 547 Nepalese college students who completed the Academic Anxiety Scale (AAS) and the University Student Depression Inventory (USDI). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to evaluate the validity of the Nepalese versions. Finally, comparative analyses using an archival dataset of students from the United States explored consistencies across cultural contexts. Nepalese translations of both scales demonstrated high reliability and validity and identified similarities in patterns of expressed academic anxiety and depression across cultures. Furthermore, four profiles of need were generated based on levels of anxiety, depression, and academic motivation. The results supported clear recommendations for tiered interventions in specific domains of emotion regulation. This initial large-scale study of academic anxiety and depression in a Nepalese university population provided confirmation that the models of anxiety and depression as well as incidence levels were consistent with existing research from other contexts. Moreover, the results provided strong confirmation that universal screening with simplified self-report measures can identify clear patterns of need among students, which can be aligned with targeted tiered interventions to support student thriving. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Academic Anxieties and Coping Strategies)
19 pages, 2509 KB  
Article
Is Burnout the Hidden Architecture of Academic Life in University Students? A Network Analysis of Psychological Functioning Within a Control–Value and Job Demands–Resources Framework
by Edgar Demeter, Dana Rad, Mușata Bocoș, Alina Roman, Anca Egerău, Sonia Ignat, Tiberiu Dughi, Dana Dughi, Alina Costin, Ovidiu Toderici, Gavril Rad, Radiana Marcu, Daniela Roman, Otilia Clipa and Roxana Chiș
Behav. Sci. 2026, 16(4), 493; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16040493 - 26 Mar 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 376
Abstract
Academic functioning in university students emerges from the interplay of motivational, self-regulatory, emotional, and contextual processes. The present study examined the network structure linking academic motivation, self-regulated learning, academic engagement, academic burnout, generalized anxiety, self-esteem, and students’ ratings of instruction. Participants were 530 [...] Read more.
Academic functioning in university students emerges from the interplay of motivational, self-regulatory, emotional, and contextual processes. The present study examined the network structure linking academic motivation, self-regulated learning, academic engagement, academic burnout, generalized anxiety, self-esteem, and students’ ratings of instruction. Participants were 530 university students from Western Romania (Mage = 28.86, SD = 9.75; 87.5% women). Data were collected through an online cross-sectional survey using validated self-report instruments. A Gaussian Graphical Model was estimated using the EBICglasso procedure to examine the unique associations among the study variables and their relative structural importance within the network. The results indicated a moderately dense psychological network, with academic burnout emerging as the most structurally central node. Intrinsic motivation toward achievement, identified regulation, and performance control were positioned within the adaptive core of the network, whereas burnout, anxiety, amotivation, and low self-esteem clustered within the maladaptive region. Academic engagement occupied an intermediary position linking motivational and self-regulatory processes. Overall, the findings support a systems-oriented interpretation of academic functioning, suggesting that burnout represents a key convergence point in students’ psychological functioning, while self-determined motivation and self-regulated learning may serve as protective processes. These results highlight the value of network analysis for identifying psychologically meaningful intervention targets in higher education. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Academic Anxieties and Coping Strategies)
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16 pages, 516 KB  
Article
The Impact of Teachers’ Innovative Support Behaviors on Creative Anxiety Among Art and Design Majors in the Context of Innovation Education: The Mediating Roles of Creative Self-Efficacy and Achievement Motivation
by He Huang and Heung Kou
Behav. Sci. 2026, 16(3), 336; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16030336 - 27 Feb 2026
Viewed by 391
Abstract
In the age of innovation, the mission of higher education is to cultivate innovative talent. Teachers’ innovative support behaviors have a significant impact on students’ emotions and creative performance. As students at art and design colleges will generally confront creative anxiety—an unfavorable emotion [...] Read more.
In the age of innovation, the mission of higher education is to cultivate innovative talent. Teachers’ innovative support behaviors have a significant impact on students’ emotions and creative performance. As students at art and design colleges will generally confront creative anxiety—an unfavorable emotion that affects their innovative abilities—this study aims to explore the mediating effects of creative self-efficacy and achievement motivation in the relationship between teachers’ innovative support behaviors and the creative anxiety of art and design students. Based on random cluster sampling, a questionnaire survey was used to collect 785 valid questionnaires from undergraduate art and design students attending six universities across eastern, central, and western China for the analysis of four variables: teachers’ innovative support behaviors, creative self-efficacy, achievement motivation, and creative anxiety. The results show that (1) teachers’ innovative support behaviors significantly negatively predict students’ creative anxiety (β = −0.631, p < 0.001); (2) creative self-efficacy and achievement motivation both have significant mediating effects (β = −0.241, p < 0.001; β = −0.183, p < 0.05, respectively); and (3) these two factors present a chain mediation effect. Bootstrap tests showed an indirect effect of −0.062 with a 95% confidence interval [−0.121, −0.008]; as the interval did not include zero, this chained mediating effect was significant. The results indicate that teachers’ innovative support behaviors not only have a direct effect on alleviating students’ anxiety but also have indirect effects through motivational and cognitive mechanisms, which provides a new theoretical reference with practical significance for art and design education. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Academic Anxieties and Coping Strategies)
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14 pages, 563 KB  
Article
Navigating the Hidden Curriculum: A Study of Resource-Based and Stories-Based Interventions in Higher Education
by Al Robiullah, Lacey Quadrelli, Leslie Remache, David Reed Akolgo, Gerardo Ramirez, Rebecca Covarrubias, Matthew Jackson and Ji Yun Son
Behav. Sci. 2026, 16(2), 273; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16020273 - 13 Feb 2026
Viewed by 689
Abstract
This study examines the effectiveness of difference-education interventions as institutional strategies that support students’ coping during the transition to college. We tested an intervention with two components: a resource-focused approach that makes the hidden rules of higher education explicit, and a student-driven narrative [...] Read more.
This study examines the effectiveness of difference-education interventions as institutional strategies that support students’ coping during the transition to college. We tested an intervention with two components: a resource-focused approach that makes the hidden rules of higher education explicit, and a student-driven narrative approach featuring unscripted stories from peers describing how they navigated common academic- and life challenges. The study involved 716 first-year students at a Minority-Serving Institution who were randomly assigned by course section to one of the two intervention conditions, with a campus-wide comparison group (N = 2708) drawn from non-participating sections. Results showed significant improvements in Fall-semester GPA and first-year retention for students in both intervention conditions relative to the no-treatment comparison group. Contrary to prior work, first-generation students did not benefit more than their continuing-generation peers. These findings suggest that difference-education interventions may support coping by helping students make sense of academic challenges, anticipate institutional demands, and respond to setbacks with greater persistence. Resource-based and narrative-based approaches may therefore contribute to students’ ability to manage academic difficulty and remain engaged during the early stages of college, particularly in Minority-Serving Institutions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Academic Anxieties and Coping Strategies)
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19 pages, 703 KB  
Article
Family Functioning and Adolescent Depression: Parallel and Serial Mediation Roles of Academic Stress and Emotion Regulation
by Mingping Jiang and Haibo Yang
Behav. Sci. 2026, 16(2), 244; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16020244 - 9 Feb 2026
Viewed by 665
Abstract
With the rapid pace of economic development and intensifying social competition, adolescent depression has emerged as an escalating global public health concern. The present study investigated the relationship between family functioning and adolescent depression, with particular attention being paid to the parallel and [...] Read more.
With the rapid pace of economic development and intensifying social competition, adolescent depression has emerged as an escalating global public health concern. The present study investigated the relationship between family functioning and adolescent depression, with particular attention being paid to the parallel and serial mediating roles of academic stress and emotion regulation strategies. A total of 437 adolescents from Anhui Province were surveyed using the Chinese versions of the Family Assessment Device, the Academic Stress Scale, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The results revealed that (1) the prevalence of depression was 27.7%, with 31.2% of participants experiencing moderate to high levels of academic stress; (2) family functioning was identified as a key predictor of adolescent depression; and (3) academic stress and expressive suppression sequentially mediated the relationship between family functioning and depression, while academic stress and cognitive reappraisal functioned as parallel mediators. In conclusion, healthy family functioning plays a crucial role in reducing adolescent depression, both directly and through the mediating effects of academic stress and emotion regulation strategies. These findings highlight the importance of family support and the adoption of adaptive coping mechanisms in promoting adolescent mental health. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Academic Anxieties and Coping Strategies)
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14 pages, 457 KB  
Article
The Longitudinal Mediating Role of Academic Buoyancy Between Academic Self-Efficacy and Academic Burnout Among Junior High School Students: A Cross-Lagged Study
by Licong Ye, Yongchun Xie and Baojuan Ye
Behav. Sci. 2025, 15(11), 1480; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15111480 - 30 Oct 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2062
Abstract
This study aims to explore the longitudinal relationship between academic self-efficacy, academic buoyancy, and academic burnout among junior high school students and to reveal the potential mediating role of academic buoyancy. Using cluster sampling, a longitudinal study was conducted on 906 students (mean [...] Read more.
This study aims to explore the longitudinal relationship between academic self-efficacy, academic buoyancy, and academic burnout among junior high school students and to reveal the potential mediating role of academic buoyancy. Using cluster sampling, a longitudinal study was conducted on 906 students (mean age = 12.48, 53.3% male) in grades 7 to 9, with three follow-up assessments conducted at four-month intervals. The assessment tools included the Academic Self-Efficacy Questionnaire, the Academic Buoyancy Scale, and the Academic Burnout Questionnaire. The results indicated the following: (1) academic self-efficacy and academic buoyancy exhibit a bidirectional relationship, meaning that academic self-efficacy is associated with increases in academic buoyancy levels four months later, and academic buoyancy also is associated with increases in academic self-efficacy four months later; (2) academic buoyancy is associated with decreases in academic burnout four months later, and academic burnout also is associated with decreases in academic buoyancy four months later; (3) academic self-efficacy is indirectly associated with decreases in academic burnout through the mediating effect of academic buoyancy. Research implications: In educational practice, a focus should be on enhancing students’ academic self-efficacy while effectively reducing academic burnout among junior high school students by fostering the psychological resource of academic buoyancy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Academic Anxieties and Coping Strategies)
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