Abstract
Academic anxiety is proven to be linked with disordered eating symptoms. Coping styles moderate the relationship between anxiety and disordered eating symptoms. This study aimed to determine if academic anxiety is positively linked with disordered eating symptoms both at the beginning of the semester and the end of the semester. Further, we hypothesized different coping styles moderate this relationship the same way they moderate the relationship between social anxiety and disordered eating symptoms. We hypothesized that higher academic anxiety is associated with higher disordered eating symptoms, and coping styles moderate this relationship.Methods: A series of self-report questionnaires were answered by undergraduate Brandeis students at the beginning of the semester and the end of the semester, which asked about disordered eating symptoms, general anxiety, academic anxiety, and coping styles. Then the models were fitted in R with an SEM model.
Results: Controlling for general anxiety, academic anxiety cannot predict disordered eating symptoms. Only those higher in avoidance-oriented coping have a reduced association between academic anxiety and disordered eating symptoms.
Discussion: The results were limited by the small sample size and measurement for academic anxiety can be improved.