Effect of personal belief in a just world on academic anxiety of college students during COVID-19 pandemic

Colleges are increasingly cognizant of the value of attending to the emotional needs of students in pandemic-altered learning conditions, recognizing that academic anxiety has significant adverse impacts on their academic performance. This study explored whether the personality trait, a personal belief in a just world (PBJW), provided distinctive explanatory power to the degree of academic anxiety after considering the specific nature of the pandemic and examining if the applicable physical activities afforded the positive additional effect on alleviating academic anxiety symptoms. The sample comprised 96 college students (51.0% female), with groups matched by age and gender and controlled for the level of a PBJW and specified physical activity (PA). An augmented academic emotional Stroop method to assess the academic anxiety of college students was proposed based on the objective indicator rather than the subjective index derived from the self-assessment tool. The results indicated the participant’s low level of a PBJW may serve as an early predictor to identify students with academic anxiety. In addition, high correlations among PA, a PBJW, and academic anxiety were identified, and the specified moderate PA, doing household chores, may serve as an early intervention to help college students manage academic anxiety. The findings hold relevance for further research on the role of personality traits in the academic process and the design of interventions addressing academic emotions.