Self-Advocacy and its Relationship with Test Anxiety and Academic Performance among High School Students with Learning Disabilities

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Specific Specialty: Mental Health General Specialty: Psychology, King Khalid Military College

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the levels of self-advocacy, test anxiety, and academic performance among a sample of high school students with learning disabilities. It also aimed to explore the relationship between self-advocacy, test anxiety, and academic performance in light of certain demographic variables, and to identify any differences between male and female students in these areas. The sample consisted of 279 high school students with learning disabilities, including 142 males and 147 females. The study utilized the learning disabilities diagnostic scale (Al-Zayat, 2015) and the test anxiety scale (von der Embse et al., 2021). The researcher developed both the self-advocacy scale and the academic performance scale. The results indicated that the levels of self-advocacy, test anxiety, and academic performance among the sample were moderate. There was a statistically significant strong inverse relationship between self-advocacy and test anxiety, and a statistically significant strong positive relationship between self-advocacy and academic performance. Additionally, there were significant gender differences in self-advocacy, favoring males, and in academic performance, favoring females. No significant gender differences were found in test anxiety. The results were discussed, and several recommendations and suggestions for future research were proposed.

Keywords

Main Subjects


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