Abstract
Research anxiety is a common issue among college students, especially when faced with deadlines, complex projects, and challenging research topics. The present study explored the research anxiety of psychology students enrolled in research writing course. A screening tool was used to determine students experiencing research anxiety. Ten participants experiencing high to very high levels of research anxiety were subjected to focus group discussions. Six major themes emerged: psychological and physiological disturbances, interpersonal conflicts, environmental conditions, healthy social systems, and self-care habits. The psychology students experienced feelings of sadness, demotivation, persistent negative thoughts, elevated stress, and anxiety that led to self-defeating thoughts and behaviors. Moreover, the psychology students perceived they had inadequate technological and vocabulary skills essential for research writing. They also experienced physiological problems such as lightheadedness, tremors, eating problems, and restlessness. Conflicting responsibilities at home, school, and work seem to also contribute to the research anxiety. It is noted that psychology students cope with research anxiety through quality time spent with family, friends, and significant others. The findings have implications for the academic and health of psychology students. Further studies are recommended to obtain a more in-depth understanding of students' self-defeating behaviors related to research anxiety.
