Anxiety in high school students – cultural and social differences

The current study aims at presenting the results of the research regarding anxiety in high school students approached in terms of test anxiety (thoughts, off-task behaviors, autonomic reactions, global), classroom anxiety, interaction anxiousness, vulnerability to depression (high standards, self-criticism, generalization). The main research question of this study referred to the differences in the anxiety’s dimensions among high school students depending on a) culture (Romania – Greece), b) gender and perception of the economic status? The study comprised 348 high school students, 165 from Greece and 183 from Romania. The results sustained most hypotheses, highlighting the role of cultural and social context in distinguishing anxiety in students. They also provide a number of suggestions for configuring psychoeducational counseling programs to better adapt students to the academic environment.