The relationship between study addiction and examination stress among students of music academies
The relationship between study addiction and examination stress among students of music academies

Summary/Abstract: Previous studies have shown that study addiction is related to worse academic performance among music academy students as well as in the general population of students, suggesting that excessive examination stress may impair their performance on exams. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the newly developed concept of “study addiction” and examination stress among students of music academies. Study addiction has been defined within the framework of theory and research on work addiction as a potential behavioral addiction. A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted, with a sample of 132 students of music academies in Poland. The Bergen Study Addiction Scale, assessing seven core addiction symptoms related to studying, was administered together with a commonly used measure of personality and single-item measures of examination stress and learning engagement. Multiple hierarchical regression analysis showed that study addiction was related to higher examination stress above and beyond personality traits. What is more, while study addiction showed a positive relationship with examination stress, learning engagement showed a negative association with examination stress. The results suggest that, among music academies students, study addiction is related to higher stress during exams and that study addiction and learning engagement are different constructs. Taking into account the relationship of study addiction with higher stress in situations of being evaluated, future studies are warranted that would link study addiction to music performance anxiety, which is one of the most widely studied phenomena in the psychology of music.

• Details
• Contents