Exploring the Influence of Background Knowledge on Reading Anxiety

This quantitative study investigates the influence of background knowledge on reading anxiety among university students across different disciplines and reading text preferences. Specifically, the study examines the relationships between background knowledge and various types of reading anxiety, including top-down, bottom-up, and classroom-related anxiety, while also exploring learners’ perceptions of these constructs. A survey design was employed, involving a convenience sample of 111 university students from diverse academic backgrounds. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire adapted from Milao and Vibulphol (2020) and Zoghi (2012). The internal consistency of the adapted instrument within the current study context was confirmed via reliability testing, yielding a high overall Cronbach's alpha coefficient of .933. Collected data were statistically examined using descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Pearson bivariate correlation analysis via SPSS. The findings revealed that while background knowledge and reading anxiety do not differ significantly across academic disciplines, significant differences emerge based on reading text preferences (digital vs. hardcopy). Furthermore, background knowledge demonstrated strong, significant positive correlations with both top-down and bottom-up reading anxiety, and a moderate positive correlation with classroom reading anxiety. These findings offer valuable insights to inform pedagogical practices aimed at reducing anxiety and improving reading performance, though the use of a relatively small convenience sample may limit the broader generalizability of the findings and introduce potential sampling bias