{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T10:02:36Z","timestamp":1789380156070,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"Royal College of Psychiatrists","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789344000000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":13,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["cambridge.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BJPsych open"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"S2056472426120870_as1\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Test anxiety affects up to 40% of university students and is associated with academic failure, depression and suicidal ideation, yet clinical screening and high-frequency research designs remain hampered by the burden of 20-item instruments such as the Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI). Although brief measures exist (e.g. the ten-item Westside Test Anxiety Scale and the five-item TAI), a validated, gender-invariant hierarchy of ultra-short forms tailored to contemporary undergraduates is lacking.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S2056472426120870_as2\">\n                    <jats:title>Aims<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To develop and validate a hierarchy of brief TAI versions (ten-item Short Form, five-item Ultra-Short Form and three-item Micro Form) suitable for systematic screening and ecological monitoring in student mental health contexts.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S2056472426120870_as3\">\n                    <jats:title>Method<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A large sample of Israeli undergraduates (\n                      <jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 1803) completed the Hebrew TAI. Items were selected based on exploratory factor analysis loadings. Structural validity and gender measurement invariance were confirmed via confirmatory factor analysis.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S2056472426120870_as4\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The five-item Ultra-Short Form showed excellent fit (comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.995, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.05) and the three-item Micro Form exhibited strong standardised factor loadings (\u22650.79). Strict scalar invariance was established across genders for all versions. All versions maintained high internal consistency (\u03b1 \u2265 0.85) and strong correlations with the full scale (\n                      <jats:italic>r<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2265 0.88). Selected items prioritised somatic over cognitive distress, suggesting contemporary students experience test anxiety as a visceral, physiological \u2018survival threat\u2019 rather than cognitive rumination.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S2056472426120870_as5\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>These validated brief measures offer a promising toolkit for \u2018agile assessment\u2019 in student mental health settings, enabling early identification of at-risk students, pending external criterion validation and independent replication.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1192\/bjo.2026.12087","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T09:03:22Z","timestamp":1789376602000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/policypage","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Psychometric validation of an ultra-short form test anxiety inventory: initial step towards a brief screening measure"],"prefix":"10.1192","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Elad","family":"Refoua","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03kgsv495","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Bar-Ilan University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8712-0309","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mor","family":"Bar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03kgsv495","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Bar-Ilan University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hagar","family":"Falk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03kgsv495","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Bar-Ilan University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shahar","family":"Weisel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03kgsv495","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Bar-Ilan University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shaked","family":"Rabinowitz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03kgsv495","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Bar-Ilan University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1226-9678","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eshkol","family":"Rafaeli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03kgsv495","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Bar-Ilan University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"170","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1207\/S15328007SEM0902_5"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s12207-023-09494-0"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref9","unstructured":"9 Driscoll, R. Westside Test Anxiety Scale Validation (ED495968). Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), 2007 (https:\/\/files.eric.ed.gov\/fulltext\/ED495968.pdf)."},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref15","volume-title":"Test Anxiety Inventory: Preliminary Professional Manual","author":"Spielberger","year":"1980"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref16","first-page":"1","article-title":"Ask less, learn more: adapting ecological momentary assessment survey length by modeling question-answer information gain","volume":"8","author":"Li","year":"2024","journal-title":"Proc ACM Interact Mob Wearable Ubiquitous Technol"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10639-024-12786-w"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.79.6.1007"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2018.10.091"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref3","volume-title":"Test Anxiety: The State of the Art","author":"Zeidner","year":"1998"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/0003-066X.55.5.469"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/psycholint7010018"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref8","first-page":"7","article-title":"Hiding behind high-stakes testing: meritocracy, objectivity and inequality in US education","volume":"12","author":"Au","year":"2013","journal-title":"Int Educ J Comp Perspect"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/00221300209603133"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref20","first-page":"1","article-title":"Best practices in exploratory factor analysis: four recommendations for getting the most from your analysis","volume":"10","author":"Costello","year":"2005","journal-title":"Pract Assess Res Eval"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10648-020-09543-z"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3102\/00346543058001047"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref22","volume-title":"Education at a Glance 2021: OECD Indicators","year":"2021"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/esr\/jcac009"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2017.11.048"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevPhysEducRes.20.010126"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/10705519909540118"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/cbs0000473"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/1528-3542.7.2.336"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/jintelligence11030042"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1006\/ceps.2001.1094"},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref21","unstructured":"21 National Center for Education Statistics. Report on the Condition of Education 2024 (NCES Publication No. 2024-144) . US Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, 2024 (https:\/\/nces.ed.gov\/pubs2024\/2024144.pdf)."},{"key":"S2056472426120870_ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.18637\/jss.v048.i02"}],"container-title":["BJPsych Open"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/services\/aop-cambridge-core\/content\/view\/S2056472426120870","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T09:03:27Z","timestamp":1789376607000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/product\/identifier\/S2056472426120870\/type\/journal_article"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]},"references-count":27,"journal-issue":{"issue":"5","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]}},"alternative-id":["S2056472426120870"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1192\/bjo.2026.12087","relation":{},"ISSN":["2056-4724"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2056-4724","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]},"assertion":[{"value":"\u00a9 The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal College of Psychiatrists","name":"copyright","label":"Copyright","group":{"name":"copyright_and_licensing","label":"Copyright and Licensing"}},{"value":"This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.","name":"license","label":"License","group":{"name":"copyright_and_licensing","label":"Copyright and Licensing"}},{"value":"This content has been made available to all.","name":"free","label":"Free to read"}],"article-number":"e238"}}