A Study on the Assessment of Anxiety and Its Effects on Students Taking the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Undergraduates (NEET-UG) 2020

Background Test anxiety is a major, often overlooked, mental health concern among students. We live in a society that decides a person's future by their performance in an examination. In our country, issues about test anxiety, academic-related depression, and stress are less discussed. Most of the institutions don’t guide students with stress management. The present study was conducted to measure the anxiety levels and their effect on the mental health of students taking the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Undergraduates (NEET-UG) 2020. Methods A cross-sectional study was done among 200 students of a private junior college taking the NEET-UG 2020 exam using the Westside Test Anxiety Scale questionnaire. The results obtained were analyzed by appropriate statistical tests using SPSS Statistics version 25 (IBM Corp. Released 2017. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). Results Out of 200 students, the results showed that, overall, 151 (75.5%) were stressed out before the exam, and 49 (24.5%) were not stressed out. This study revealed that the majority of the students didn't receive any professional help to combat their mental health problems or any professional counseling to improve their morale. Conclusion It is evident from the results of the study that the majority of the students faced difficulties in their academic performance due to test anxiety, and the effects were prominent irrespective of the age and gender of the students. Professional psychological counselors, guidance, and the availability of healthcare professionals in institutions to address the mental health needs of students will yield better outcomes.