The Mediating Role of Sleep Quality in the Relationship Between Academic Stress and Test Anxiety among University Undergraduates

Test anxiety is a prevalent issue that affects university undergraduates globally. Test anxiety and academic stress is known to be related, however, the possible mechanisms behind this association need to be uncovered. This study aims to ascertain if the relationship between test anxiety and academic stress is mediated by sleep quality among University of Ibadan undergraduates. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted to select 360 students (male 176 and female 184), aged 16 to 30 years (M = 20.12, SD = 2.22), utilizing a multi-stage sampling technique. Participants responded to three instruments; Perception of Academic Stress Scale, Test Anxiety Inventory-5, and Sleep Quality Scale. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed by using SPSS and AMOS (SEM). The SEM analysis showed a good fit of the data (χ2 = 11.947, df = 5, p < .05), RMSEA = 0.062 (90% CI [0.02, 0.10]), GFI = 0.99; CFI = 0.95; TLI = 0.93; SRMR=0.05, to the hypothesized model. Academic stress and sleep quality explained 24% of the variance in test anxiety. Academic stress and sleep quality had an inverse relationship (β = -0.18, p <.05) while sleep quality negatively predicted test anxiety (β = -0.21, p < .01). A strong direct effect (β = 0.37, p < .01) and low indirect effect (β = 0.04, 95% CI [-0.16, -0.075]) of academic stress on test anxiety partially mediated by sleep quality were observed. Test anxiety is influenced directly and indirectly by academic stress through sleep quality. Prioritizing sleep could help improve overall mood among students with test anxiety.