University Students and Fear of Success

The purpose of the researcher was to investigate the fear of success in university students. The sampling included 210 students, 83 males, and 127 females. The independent variables investigated were locus of control, gender, age, academic achievement and college classification. The dependent variable was the Fear of Success Scale score. Three composite null hypotheses were tested using three-way analysis of variance (general linear model) at .0500 level of significance. / A total of 15 comparisons were made plus 6 recurring comparisons. Of the 15 comparisons, 5 were main effects and 10 were interactions. Of the 5 main effects 1 was statically significant at the .0500 level. The statistically significant comparison was for the main effect of locus of control and the dependent variable fear of success. The result indicated college students with an external locus of control had a statistically larger mean fear of success score than those with internal locus of control. None of the 10 interactions was statistically significant at the .0500 level. / The results of the present study appeared to support the following generalizations: a. Individuals who exhibit an external locus of control have a higher level of fear of success than individuals who have an internal locus of control; b. Females have no more fear of success than males; c. Age of college students is not associated with fear of success; d. Academic achievement is not associated with fear of success; and e. College classification is not associated with fear of success.