Abstract

NCAA Division III educational institutions promote a student-first philosophy that recognizes participation in athletics as one component of a well-rounded college experience prioritizing academic excellence.  However, there is limited research on the academic stress and time management skills among students participating in Division III athletics and other time-consuming, structured extracurricular activities.  This study investigated whether students participating in Division III athletics and performing arts at a small liberal arts college reported lower test anxiety than peers in less-structured clubs or with no extracurricular involvement, whether their level of test anxiety was influenced by the number of hours they spent on their extracurriculars, and whether their time management skills explained why their structured involvement might help lessen test anxiety (N=109). Participants completed an online survey that was used to assess their extracurricular involvement, time commitments, and self-reported levels of test anxiety, perceived stress, time management skills, and extracurricular support based on established scales. The results showed that performing arts students reported the highest levels of test anxiety, despite a comparably high time commitment as the athletes. The athletes and club members, in contrast, had similar levels of test anxiety despite higher time commitments among the athletes.  The results also indicated that time management skills did not mediate the relationship between type of extracurricular involvement and test anxiety. However, the study suggested that a perceived loss of control, rather than which extracurricular group a student belongs to or how many hours they commit to it, is the factor most associated with test anxiety. There was a strong positive correlation between perceived stress and test anxiety (r = .537, p < .001), driven at the item level by a perceived loss of control.  Overall, the findings suggest that for liberal arts institutions committed to fostering holistic student development, the most meaningful investments in student well-being may come from equipping all students, regardless of extracurricular involvement type, class year, or activity level, with the cognitive tools and institutional support that help them to perceive their academic challenges as manageable, even when they are difficult.

Advisor

Scheibe, Dan

Department

Psychology

Publication Date

2026

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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© Copyright 2026 Mark Charles Towns