COMMUNICATOR ANXIETY: A COMPARISON OF 2- AND 4-YEAR COLLEGE STUDENTS

This research project was a preliminary study that compared the scores of 569 community college students on two different communication apprehension measures (the Personal Report of Communication Anxiety [PRCA] revised 20-item form and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory [STAI], Form Y-1) with the published norms for each measure. The normative sample for the PRCA consisted of 4-year college and university students, and the STAI norm data were established by using working adults and university students; neither used community college students. Results of this study suggest that community college students have a higher communication apprehension level than either working adults or 4-year college or university students. The implications of these findings for community college attrition rates are discussed.