Test anxiety across four preclinical medical disciplines: a cross-sectional comparative study in Vietnam

Abstract Background Test anxiety is common in medical training, yet most research has focused on general medical students. Whether other doctor-training programmes, including Dental Medicine, Traditional Medicine, and Preventive Medicine, exhibit distinct anxiety profiles and predictors remains unclear in multidisciplinary Asian medical education systems. Methods A multi-group cross-sectional study was conducted among 800 s-year students from four doctor-training programmes at Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy during the Preclinical I examination period (December 2024-March 2025): General Medicine ( n = 382), Dental Medicine ( n = 181), Traditional Medicine ( n = 135), and Preventive Medicine ( n = 102). Test anxiety was assessed using the 20-item Spielberger TAI. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis tested measurement invariance, MANOVA compared the Worry and Emotionality subscales, and multivariable logistic regression examined programme-specific effects. Reporting followed STROBE. Results The overall prevalence of clinically significant test anxiety (TAI ≥ 50) was 70.0% (95% CI: 66.8–73.1), with significant differences across programmes (χ² = 21.30; p < 0.001): Dental Medicine, 79.0%; Traditional Medicine, 76.3%; Preventive Medicine, 74.5%; and General Medicine, 62.3%. Traditional Medicine had the highest proportion of very high anxiety (TAI ≥ 62; 52.6%). Total TAI scores also differed significantly (F(3,796) = 12.23; p < 0.001), with the highest mean in Traditional Medicine (61.10 ± 12.91) and the lowest in General Medicine (54.76 ± 12.79). Traditional Medicine showed the highest Worry and Emotionality scores, whereas General Medicine showed the lowest. Conclusions This study provides evidence of discipline‑specific patterns of test anxiety in a Vietnamese preclinical setting. Preclinical test anxiety was highly prevalent and concentrated in Dental Medicine, Traditional Medicine, and Preventive Medicine. The two-factor TAI demonstrated scalar invariance, supporting valid cross-programme comparisons of Worry and Emotionality. These findings provide a rationale for the future evaluation of discipline-tailored interventions.