The relationships between communication apprehension, demographic factors, and achievement of high school students

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the degree of Communication Apprehension and a student's grade point average. In addition, this study looked at Communication Apprehension differences in various communication settings of groups based on socioeconomic status, gender, ethnic groups, student participation in communication classes, and a student's primary language. To do this, the study used the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension-24 (PRCA-24) and a researcher generated survey of demographic information and online Communication Apprehension questions. The research participants included 176 high school students in a Midwestern high school.; The study found no significant difference in the mean GPA for students who had low Communication Apprehension when compared with the mean GPA for the students who had high Communication Apprehension. This study found that students who had low Communication Apprehension also had significantly less online apprehension when compared to students who had high Communication Apprehension. There was no significant difference between gender groups based on PRCA-24 scores. Additionally, there were no significant differences in mean PRCA-24 scores for students who did and did not receive free or reduced lunch, students who were White versus Non-White, or those students who learned English as their first language compared to those who did not. There were uneven group sizes for ethnicity, free and reduced lunches and primary versus secondary English language learners, which may affect generalization of these findings. Finally, students who completed a speech or debate class had a significantly lower apprehension score than students who did not take a communications course. Classroom teachers can use this information to create an environment that will allow students with Communication Apprehension to be successful.