The effect of anxiety and coping styles on the academic achievement of the high school students and their brothers and/or sisters

The aim of this study is to investigate the coping styles, Beck anxiety levels and the academic achievement levels of the high-school students. Therefore, the hypothesis of the study are that there are statistically significant relationships between the coping styles and anxiety levels; the coping styles and academic achievement; anxiety levels and the academic achievement in the high-school students who are brothers or sisters. Another aim of this study is to determine whether the anxiety levels, coping styles and the academic achievement indicate a significant correlational relationship with the variables of age, sex, grade, the number of brothers or sisters, birth order, family structure and the place of living in the students. The sample of the study consists of 430 high-school students. Sociodemographic data form, Beck Anxiety Scale, Coping Styles Scale for Children and Adolescents were used to collect data using an online survey. The statistical analysis of the study was conducted using SPSS 25 (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). The relationships between the anxiety levels, coping styles and the academic achievement were also investigated. Findings of this study indicated that Beck anxiety levels were found to be negatively correlated with the coping styles; anxiety levels were found to be negatively correlated with the active and avoidant coping styles and anxiety levels were found to be positively correlated with the negative coping style. Besides, there was a significant correlational relationship between the academic achievement and the coping styles. As the students get higher scores from the anxiety scale, the scores they get from the academic achievement scale becomes lower. Findings of this study were discussed in the light of the literature and the suggestions for future researches were given and the reference was made to the clinical practise.