A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Structure of Statistics Anxiety Measure: An examination of four alternative models

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to explore the confirmatory factor analysis results of the Persian adaptation of Statistics Anxiety Measure (SAM), proposed by Earp. METHOD The validity and reliability assessments of the scale were performed on 298 college students chosen randomly from Tabriz University in Iran. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out to determine the factor structures of the Persian adaptation of SAM. RESULTS As expected, the second order model provided a better fit to the data than the three alternative models. CONCLUSIONS Hence, SAM provides an equally valid measure for use among college students. The study both expands and adds support to the existing body of math anxiety literature.