Correlates of Performance Anxiety in Practical Music Exams.

A sample of 120 young musicians (36 males and 84 females) aged between 15 and 18 years (M = 16.5, SD = 0.97) were administered the EPQ-R short scale and a revised PAI-R, a self-report measure of performance anxiety in practical music exams. Principal components analysis indicated that the PAI-R scores were best represented by a single component with an internal consistency reliability of .88. Females had significantly higher scores on the PAI-R than males. A significant negative correlation between PAI-R scores and psychoticism, and a significant positive correlation between PAI-R scores and neuroticism scores was obtained. The correlation between PAI-R scores and extraversion was negative but not significant. There was no significant correlation between PAI-R scores and years of playing. The implications of these findings for music teachers are considered.