Anxiety in the Classroom: Only Girls’ Anxiety Is Related to Same-Sex Peers’ Anxiety

Sandrine Charbonneau, Audrey-Ann Journault, Rebecca Cernik, Charlotte Longpré, Nathalie Wan, Charles-Édouard Giguère and Sonia Lupien ()
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Sandrine Charbonneau: Centre for Studies on Human Stress, 7331 Hochelaga Street, Montreal, QC H1N 3V2, Canada
Audrey-Ann Journault: Centre for Studies on Human Stress, 7331 Hochelaga Street, Montreal, QC H1N 3V2, Canada
Rebecca Cernik: Centre for Studies on Human Stress, 7331 Hochelaga Street, Montreal, QC H1N 3V2, Canada
Charlotte Longpré: Centre for Studies on Human Stress, 7331 Hochelaga Street, Montreal, QC H1N 3V2, Canada
Nathalie Wan: Centre for Studies on Human Stress, 7331 Hochelaga Street, Montreal, QC H1N 3V2, Canada
Charles-Édouard Giguère: Research Center, Institut Universitaire de Recherche en Santé Mentale de Montréal, 7331 Hochelaga Street, Montreal, QC H1N 3V2, Canada
Sonia Lupien: Centre for Studies on Human Stress, 7331 Hochelaga Street, Montreal, QC H1N 3V2, Canada

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 20, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Many teens report experiencing anxiety in school, which can negatively impact their well-being. Considering that adolescents tend to adopt the same behaviors as their classmates with whom they spend, on average, 923 h every year, the current exploratory study (1) assessed whether an association exists between a student’s state anxiety score and his/her classmates’ average trait anxiety scores and (2) examined whether this association differed between boys and girls, as well as between elementary school and high school students. During two consecutive school years, 1044 Canadian students (59% girls) from six elementary schools (aged 10–12) and seven high schools (aged 15–17) completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children. Multilevel analyses revealed a same-sex peer effect of classmates’ anxiety in girls only ( β = 0.40, p < 0.001). This effect was similar for elementary and high school girls ( β = 0.07, p = 0.27). Interestingly, no association was found for boys, same-sex peers ( β = 0.11, p = 0.25), or opposite-sex peers ( β = −0.01, p = 1.00). Our results suggest that factors related to sex may reinforce anxiety in school settings. Future studies should confirm these results and explore the mechanisms involved in this sex-specific difference.

Keywords: state anxiety; trait anxiety; peers; homophily; same-sex peers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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