Prevalence and Predictors of Resumption Anxiety in Undergraduates: A Preliminary Survey

Abstract

There exists an enormous amount of literature on anxiety among undergraduates. This study sought to determine the prevalence of resumption anxiety (RANX) among undergraduates. Participants consisted of 400 (186 male and 210 female) undergraduates selected from two Nigerian universities, one privately-owned, and one publicly owned. They ranged between 16 and 25 years in age, X ⃛= 19.5, SD = 1.85. To measure resumption anxiety, the authors developed the Resumption Anxiety Inventory (RAIN), a 46-item, 5-point Likert-Type questionnaire. The BFI-2 (Soto & John, 2017) was used to measure personality. Data analysis, using the SPSS-XXIII, indicated that 42 per cent of the participants reported high resumption anxiety. RAIN score was higher for private university students, but the difference was not statistically significant. Furthermore, Negative emotionality correlated positively with RAIN score, but Openness and Agreeableness correlated negatively with RAIN. Our data show a high prevalence of resumption anxiety among undergraduates, and that personality is an important determinant of resumption anxiety. Preventive measures for anxiety problems in school, deterioration in mental well-being, and related problems should include regular screening of students for resumption anxiety.