Gender and Anxiety: A Comparison of Student Anxiety Levels in Face-to-Face and Video Conferencing Courses

doi:10.4236/ce.2012.31015

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Creative Education

2012. Vol.3, No.1, 92-95

Published Online February 2012 in SciRes (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/ce) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ce.2012.31015

Gender and Anxiety: A Comparison of Student Anxiety

Levels in Face-to-Face and Video Conferencing Courses

Jodi McKnight1, Mark A. McKnight2

1Psychology, M idcontinent University, Mayfield, USA

2Business Communication, University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, USA

Email: jmcknight @midcontinent.edu, [email protected]

Received October 11th, 2011; revised November 14th, 2011; accepted November 28th, 2011

This research focuses on the role of gender in face-to-face instruction and video conferencing instruction

on students’ levels of anxiety. This is due, in part, to the fact that gender and anxiety levels of students

enrolled in remote video conferencing learning environments has received little attention in either psy-

chological or educational research. A difference in gender as it relates to education is an important focus

of research. This is due to the increasing learning opportunities for female students (online in particular).

Explored later, further research should investigate various demographics and delivery options for courses.

Keywords: Video Conferencing; Student Anxiety; Gender

Introduction

Current research has shown that affective responses in alter-

native learning environments are lacking (McKnight, 2010).

Hove and Corcoran (2008) found that there is a limit to the

investigation of students’ affective responses in virtual learning

environments, one of which is video conferencing. Video con-

ferencing in educational settings is a method of instruction in

which instructors and students interact, both visually and with

audio in “real time”, with the instructor and students at the

originating campus and other remote campuses, allowing simu-

lation of the face-to-face interaction of traditional education

(Fillion et al., 1999). Yukselturk and Bulut, (2009) report that

within the literature, gender based differences in education are

an important focus for research, and have been for a while.

Research was conducted to explore the comparative impact of a

students’ form of instruction (either face-to-face or video con-

ferenced) on their levels of anxiety as it relates to t heir gender,

one reason being that gender, as a demographic variable, has

great practical importance (Schleicher, Van Iddenkinge, Mor-

geson, & Campion, 2010).

The present research attempts to provide an exploratory

study on the impacts of demographics as determining factors

for anxiety levels in educational settings. More specifically,

initial study undertaken here investigates the demographic of

gender in a live video-based course. Further research, which is

fully explored later, could explore various demographics and

delivery options for courses.

Review of the Literature

Recent studies have found that attending a college or univer-

sity can be anxiety-producing during the first year (Bouteyre,

Maurel, & Bernand, 2007; Mundia, 2010). This can be the re-

sult of numerous factors including poor time management,

repeated failure, or public speaking (Head & Lindsey, 1983).

Yukselturk and Bulut (2009) report that distance education has

been a good option for female students, primarily because they

can balance more of the familial and educational, as well as

vocational, areas of their lives. Since distance education is one

of the more popular forums for educational advancement, Yuk-

selturk and Bulut (2009) found that the male and female may be

different in several ways due to the variety of life responsibili-

ties they have.

Bekker and van Mens-Verhulst (2007) define gender as con-

sisting of “the socio-cultural aspects of defining people’s iden-

tity in relation to sex” (p. S179). These characteristics can be very

different between same sex members, but can also be similar

between those individuals of opposite sexes (Bekker & van

Mens-Verhulst, 2007). Judge and Livingston (2008) state that

gender is fundamental and has been explored within a plethora

of disciplinary perspectives. In fact, gender is often one of the

first variables considered when conducting a meta-analysis of a

topic. Gender and anxiety research have been explored in a

variety of areas, one being distance learning (Yukselturk, and

Bulut, 2009). Martin (2010) recommends that to gain better

representation on gender and discipline, study one specific dis-

cipline and explore gender within it.

Abdel-Khalek and Alansari (2004) state that “anxiety is one

of the most fundamental of all constructs in psychology” (p.

649). Disorders within the anxiety-spectrum are the most per-

vasive class of mental disorders (Stein & Stein, 2008), with

over 29% of the United States population having one or more

diagnosable anxiety disorder at some point in their lives (Mi-

neka & Zinbarg, 2006.)

Both physiological and psychological manifestations have

also been explored, but it is limited in a video conferenced en-

vironment (McKnight, 2010). Anxiety research in education has

been limited to computer-assisted teaching methods (DeBord,

Arugente, & Muhlig, 2004), learning and computer anxiety

(Barbeite and Weiss, 2003), emotions and achievement (Pekrun

et al., 2006), academic anxiety (Levine, 2008) and the compa-

risons between online learning and face-to-face learning (Soli-

meno et al., 2007).

As for gender prevalence, Bekker and van Mens-Verhulst

J. MCKNIGHT ET AL.

(2007) report that anxiety is substantially higher in women than

in men. Mundia (2010) indicates that there is an increase in the

prevalence of anxiety in college students. In addition, anxiety

was more prevalent in female students than male students.

Procedures

The sample was drawn from a larger population of students

enrolled in a community college. Upon registration, students had

the opportunity to enroll in a variety of courses, one being

called “Interactive Video Course”. As more face-to-face courses

were available than distance learning courses, there was un-

equal groups. This, however, is neither uncommon nor atypical,

according to Halsne and Gotta’s (2002) study of traditional

versus online instruction. Their sample for study consisted of

twice as many traditional students than online students.

The educational institution’s distance education option was

called an “interactive video course.” The courses offered in this

format and the traditional face-to-face format included Intro-

duction to Psychology, Speech, English, History and Sociology.

This “class subject” was included in the analyses as an inde-

pendent variable to see if it had any impact on anxiety experi-

enced. The demographics of the participants were as follows:

ages 18-50, men and women, of all socioeconomic backgrounds.

The exclusion criteria included those not enrolled in the video

conferencing course for the above courses during a single 15-

week term. Additional exclusion criteria included students who

did not speak the English language fluently. There were no

disability exclusion criteria for this research.

Distance education courses at this college had a maximum of

20 enrollees per 15-week term in each class, but had to have at

least 10 students enrolled in order for the course to be held.

Students could have enrolled at the main campus or at the re-

mote campus. Using five courses provided the researcher with

approximately 100 students to which the instruments were ad-

ministered. Students who choose to enroll in Introduction to

Psychology, Speech, English, History and Sociology video

conferencing courses decided upon registration which campus

they preferred to receive instruction from, the main campus

(face-to-face) or the remote campus. Factors that influenced the

students’ choices of location in the past included convenience,

the length of travel time it took to and from the college loca-

tions, financial issues due to travel, residential addresses of

students. Therefore, the researcher did not assign participants to

groups; the students themselves (along with assistance from

their academic advisor) decided the location from which to take

the class.

Method

A quasi-experimental design was used due the fact that stu-

dents were not randomly assigned and there were unequal

groups. Data was collected through two quantitative measures,

at one time. The first measure was through the state scale of the

State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, created by Spielberger (1983).

The STAI measures the psychological manifestations of anxiety.

Andor et al. (2008) reports that one psychological manifestation

of anxiety is a difficulty in controlling worry, while Spielberger

(1983) believes manifestations can also include a feelings of

fear, tension and apprehension.

The second measure was the Beck Anxiety Inventory, cre-

ated by Beck et al. (1988). The BAI measures the physical

manifestations of anxiety. These can include an increase in

heart rate, sweating, shortness of breath and trembling (Larson

et al., 2007). The class subject being taught, age and gender

was also be recorded, to be analyzed as an independent variable,

as it may have had some impact on anxiety levels. Students

were administered the BAI and the STAI during a class period

toward the end of the 15-week term.

Data

The data that was analyzed included the numerical compo-

nents provided by the STAI and the BAI, as well as the class

subject being taught. For the scores on the STAI-S (or state

scale), there is an increase in response to physical danger and

psychological stress and decrease as a result of some relaxation

techniques (Spielberger, 1983). The STAI consists of separate

self-report scales that measure state and trait anxiety. The STAI

items contain twenty statements of how people generally feel.

Spielberger (1983) reports that the state anxiety scale can vary

from a minimum of 20 to a maximum of 80, with those report-

ing higher scores exhibiting more self-reported symptoms of

anxiety. Participants are asked to read the statements, and then

circle the number to the right of the statement to indicate how

they feel at the current moment. Choices included 1 = not at all;

2 = somewhat; 3 = moderately so; and 4 = very much so. This

instrument consists of twenty statements that evaluate those

feelings.

The BAI, according to Beck et al. (1988) reports that the

items are summed to obtain the total score ranging from 0-63.

Wetherell and Arean (1997) report that scores of 16 or higher

suggest moderate to severe levels of anxiety, which means that

the higher the score on the BAI, the greater number of symp-

toms of anxiety experienced by the person. This is a self-report

measure that examines the physical sensations associated with

anxiety, such as abdominal discomfort, numbness, difficulty

breathing, and sweating. The BAI consists of 21 anxiety symp-

toms, with participants being asked to indicate the extent to

which they were bothered by each item during the past week,

and including the current day (Creamer, et al., 1995). Partici-

pants rate their severity of anxious symptoms over the past

week on a 4-point scale ranging from 0 (not at all) to 3 (se-

verely-I could barely stand it). Beck et al. (1988) reports that

the items are summed to obtain the total score ranging from

0-63.

The researcher in the main campus classroom collected data

while the proctor collected the data in the remote campus loca-

tion. Participants were assigned a number before the admini-

stration of the instruments and the participant number was the

only identifying information on the instruments. Once instru-

ments were collected, the researcher and the proctor placed the

instruments in a large manila envelope and sealed it. The re-

searcher then drove to the remote campus and collected the

video conferencing participants’ data after the completion of

the BAI and STAI.

Results

The demographics of the participants included 41% (n = 54)

males and 59% (n = 78) females, for a total of 132 participants.

Participants ranged in ages from 18 years old to 66 years old.

There were 10 participants who did not report their age. Twenty-

seven percent (27%) of those reporting age were 18 years old,

J. MCKNIGHT ET AL.

while 20% were 19 years old. The average age of respondents

was 23 (M = 23.36, SD = 8.53). The ages represented in the

sample ranged from 18 to 66. The largest percentage of student

participants was 18 years old, or 27%, with 19 year olds rank-

ing 20%. There were ten student participants, or 8%, who did

not wish to report their age.

The overall mean STAI score for participants was 40.25,

with a standard deviation of 12.047. The mean BAI score for

those same participants was 10.22, with a standard deviation of

10.05. More specifically, the STAI and BAI scores by gender

are presented as Table 1.

One-hundred and thirty-two participants reported their class

subject, gender, STAI-S and BAI scores, as well as the type of

instruction. There were ten students who did not report their

age.

The sample was analyzed by gender. Of the total 132 par-

ticipants, there were 54 males and 78 females. There were a

greater number of female students enrolled, or 59%. Table 2

presents participant gender.

Participants were categorized by class subject, which in-

cluded Psychology, Speech Communication, English, History,

and Sociology. Class subject was reported in numerical order:

1-Psychology; 2-Speech Communication; 3-English; 4-History;

5-Sociology. There were a total of 132 students that partici-

pated in the research. The largest numbers of participants were

enrolled in the Speech Communication course, or 32, which is

24%. The smallest numbers of participants enrolled were in the

History course, or 17, which is 13%. Of the 132 students that

participated in the research, 72 were enrolled in the face-to-face

instruction course or 54.5%, and 60 or 45.5%, were enrolled in

the videoconferenced instruction course.

Discussion

Distance learning education has paved the way for today’s

alternative educational instruction formats. However, gender

could be considered a variable for which there are score differ-

ences (Saad & Sacket, 2002). In Yuke selturk and Bulut’s (2009)

research, they found many variables that did not differ between

genders, such as motivational beliefs and self-regulated learn-

ing variables. They did, pointedly, find that females test higher

than males in anxiety-producing situations, as did Bekker and

van Mens-Verhulst (2007).

For the STAI, or psychological manifestations of anxiety, the

groups are fairly comparable in terms of average anxiety quo-

Table 1.

Anxiety scores by gender.

Gender N Mean

STAI Score Male

Female

39.48

40.78

BAI Score Male

Female

8.35

11.51

Table 2.

Participant gender.

Frequency Percent

Male 54 40.9

Female 78 59.1

Total 132 100.0

tients. However, the BAI, which measures physical manifesta-

tions of anxiety, indicates that females do experience higher

physical anxiety in video-based courses than males. Thus, the

setting does impact some of the primary manifestations of

anxiety.

However, the present research proves inconclusive as to the

role of gender in video-based courses. While there appears to

be some basis for further research and discussion, there is no

statistical significance that identifies gender as a determining

factor or consideration related to vid eo cou rses.

Recommendations

Yukeselturk and Bulut (2009) do not recommended treating

genders differently in instruction. Some recommendations may

have to be explored about the different behaviors contributed

by the genders in order to further expansion of anxiety and

gender research in alternative learning environments.

The present study indicates that while gender, as well as

other demographic variables, are relevant considerations in the

design of distance courses (in particular, live video), there is no

clearly defined linkage as to the exact effects of gender in dis-

tance education. Specific recommendations from the study

include:

1) BAI, or physical manifestations of anxiety, must be ex-

plored further in educational settings. BAI should be measured

relative to gender in other distance education formats, such as

online delivery, hybrid courses, etc.

2) BAI should also be used to measure physical manifesta-

tions of anxiety relative to gender in traditional classroom set-

tings, to establish benchmarks for comparison among delivery

methods.

3) Finally, BAI and STAI measurements should be collected

in studies where other demographic variables, such as income,

age, and others can be used as a variable. This will help to fur-

ther explain the role of anxiety in educational set tings.

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