Journal Screenshot

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2222-6990

Factor Structure and Validation of the Chinese Version of the Mazzarolo Music Performance Anxiety Scale (M-MPAS-Cn)

Qian Liu, Mei Foong Ang

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v16-i4/28046

Open access

Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) is a common experience among student musicians; however, there are limited validated brief screening tools for Chinese populations. This study followed established guidelines to translate, back-translate, and examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Mazzarolo Music Performance Anxiety Scale (M-MPAS-Cn). Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA; n = 217) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA; n = 323) were conducted using data collected from undergraduate music students from two distinct samples. EFA showed a preference for a single-factor model, which accounted for 68.43% of the variance. Good model fit across different indices was confirmed by CFA. Standardized loadings are all > .60, and both composite reliability (CR = .878) and average variance extracted (AVE = .599) met recommended thresholds. These results indicate that the M-MPAS-Cn has high reliability, validity, and a consistent unidimensional structure and is a reliable candidate for the short and effective screening of Chinese music learners for MPA. This study further highlights the practical significance of providing a rapid and culturally appropriate screening tool, which can support early identification of music performance anxiety among Chinese-speaking music students and inform timely educational and psychological interventions in both academic and clinical contexts.

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. American Psychiatric Association. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Ananias de Lima, A., Christine Cavalcanti Ximenes, R., & Lopes de Souza, S. (2024). Factors associated with music performance anxiety in adolescents: A systematic review. Children and Youth Services Review, 164, 107860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.107860
Barros, S., Marinho, H., Borges, N., & Pereira, A. (2022). Characteristics of music performance anxiety among undergraduate music students: A systematic review. Psychology of Music, 50(6), 2021–2043. https://doi.org/10.1177/03057356211066967
Barros, S., Marinho, H., & Pereira, A. (2024). Music performance anxiety in Portuguese higher education: Contextual factors, perceptions, and strategies. Musicae Scientiae, 28(2), 287–307. https://doi.org/10.1177/10298649231202977
Brodsky, W., Sloboda, J. A., & Waterman, M. G. (1994). An exploratory investigation into auditory style as a correlate and predictor of music performance anxiety. Med. Probl. Perform. Art., 9, 101–112.
Browne, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In Bollen?K. A. & Long?J. S. (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 136–162). Sage.
Burin, A. B., & Osório, F. L. (2017). Music performance anxiety: a critical review of etiological aspects, perceived causes, coping strategies and treatment. Archives of Clinical Psychiatry (São Paulo), 44(5), 127–133. https://doi.org/10.1590/0101-60830000000136
C?rakoglu, O. C., & Sentürk, G. C. (2013). Development of a performance anxiety scale for music students. Med. Probl. Perform. Art., 28, 199–206.
Clegg, H., & Clements, L. (2024). From the Wings to the Stage and Beyond: Performance Anxiety and Flow in UK Vocational Dance Students. Journal of Dance Education, 24(2), 83–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/15290824.2021.2004604
Cohen, S., & Bodner, E. (2019). The relationship between flow and music performance anxiety amongst professional classical orchestral musicians. Psychology of Music, 47(3), 420–435. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735618754689
Driscoll, T., Ackermann, B., & Kenny, D. T. (2014). Psychological well-being in professional orchestral musicians in Australia: A descriptive population study. Psychology of Music, 42(2), 210–232. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735612463950
Duda, J. L., & Hayashi, C. T. (1998). Measurement issues in cross-cultural research within sport and exercise psychology. MorFitness Information Technology.
Fernholz, I., Mumm, J. L. M., Plag, J., Noeres, K., Rotter, G., Willich, S. N., Ströhle, A., Berghöfer, A., & Schmidt, A. (2019). Performance anxiety in professional musicians: a systematic review on prevalence, risk factors and clinical treatment effects. Psychological Medicine, 49(14), 2287–2306. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291719001910
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104
Gómez-López, B., & Sánchez-Cabrero, R. (2024). Design and Evaluation of a Collective Preventive Program for Musical Performance Anxiety (ConfiDance). European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 14(5), 1260–1278. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe14050083
Hair, J. F., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L., & Black, W. C. (1995). Multivariate data analysis with readings (4th ed.). Multivariate data analysis with readings (4th ed.).
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate Data Analysis (7th ed). Pearson Education.
Hamann, D. L., & Sobaje, M. (1983). Anxiety and the college musician: A study of performance conditions and subject variables. Psychology of Music, 11(1), 37–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735683111005
Henshaw, A., & Collyer, S. (2022). Under Pressure: Reports of Performance Anxiety Across Multiple Singing Genres. Journal of Singing, 78(5), 583–590. https://doi.org/10.53830/JETA7812
Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6(1), 1–55.
Huang, W. L., & Yu, H. (2022). Social support in university music students’ coping with performance anxiety: people, strategies and performance situations. Music Education Research, 24(1), 124–135. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2022.2028752
Jiang, X., & Tong, Y. (2024). Psychological capital and music performance anxiety: the mediating role of self-esteem and flow experience. Frontiers in Psychology, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1461235
Jo?nsdo?ttir, I. (2010). Music performance anxiety among musicians and methods they use to deal with it. In [Unpublished BSc thesis]. University of Iceland.
Joseph F. Hair, J., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2009). Multivariate Data Analysis. pp 816.
Kenny, D. T. (2011). The psychology of music performance anxiety. Oxford University Press.
Kenny, D. T., Davis, P., & Oates, J. (2004). Music performance anxiety and occupational stress amongst opera chorus artists and their relationship with state and trait anxiety and perfectionism. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 18(6), 757–777. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2003.09.004
Kline, R. B. (2016). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (4th ed). Guilford Press.
Lehrer, P. M., Goldman, N., & Strommen, E. . (1990). A principal components assessment of performance anxiety among musicians . Medical Problems of Performing Artists, 5, 12–18.
Lin, M. C. (2019). An investigation of music performance anxiety in taiwanese pianists, vocalists, string and wind instrumentalists at the college level (Issue August). University of North Dakota in.
Mazzarolo, I., & Schubert, E. (2022). A Short Performance Anxiety Scale for Musicians. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.781262
Mazzon, L., Passarotto, E., Altenmüller, E., & Vercelli, G. (2024). Music performance anxiety and the Italian sport psychology S.F.E.R.A. model: An explorative study on 77 professional musicians. Psychology of Music, 52(3), 322–339. https://doi.org/10.1177/03057356231198239
Nagel, J. J. (2017). Managing stage fright: A guide for musicians and music teachers. New York: Oxford University Press.
Osborne, M. S., & Kenny, D. T. (2005). Development and validation of a music performance anxiety inventory for gifted adolescent musicians. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 19(7), 725–751. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2004.09.002
Ou, J., & Qin, C. (2025). Exploring musical self-efficacy and performance anxiety in young violin learners: insights from mainland China. Frontiers in Psychology, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1575591
Papageorgi, I. (2007). Understanding Performance Anxiety in the Adolescent Musician. London: UCL Institute of Education.
Papageorgi, I. (2021). Typologies of Adolescent Musicians and Experiences of Performance Anxiety Among Instrumental Learners. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.645993
Papageorgi, Ioulia, Hallam, S., & Welch, G. F. (2007). A conceptual framework for understanding musical performance anxiety. Research Studies in Music Education, 28(1), 83–107. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X070280010207
Passarotto, E., Worschech, F., & Altenmüller, E. (2023). The effects of anxiety on practice behaviors and performance quality in expert pianists. Frontiers in Psychology, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1152900
Rife, N., Lapidus, L., & Shnek, Z. (2000). Musical Performance Anxiety, Cognitive Flexibility, and Field Independence in Professional Musicians. Medical Problems of Performing Artists, 15(4), 161–166.
Sheriff, F. H. M., & Yoong, C. Y. (2015). Development of the music performance anxiety scale. Int. J. Acad. Res. Reflec, 3, 1–9.
Spahn, C. (2015). Treatment and prevention of music performance anxiety. In E. Altenmüller, S. Finger, & F. Boller (Eds.), Progress in Brain Research (Vol. 127, pp. 129–140). https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2014.11.024
Spahn, C., Tenbaum, P., Immerz, A., Hohagen, J., & Nusseck, M. (2023). Dispositional and performance-specific music performance anxiety in young amateur musicians. Frontiers in Psychology, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1208311
Steptoe, A. (2001). Negative Emotions In Music Making: The Problem Of Performance Anxiety. In Music And Emotion (pp. 291–308). Oxford University PressNew York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192631886.003.0013
Tanzer, N. K., & Sim, C. Q. E. (1999). Adapting instruments for use in multiple languages and cultures: A review of the ITC guidelines for test adaptations. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 15, 258–269.
Tardif, C., Boucher, H., Lane, J., & Barbeau, A. (2024). Music performance anxiety in children 9?12 years old in a music program. Psychology in the Schools, 61(2), 671–685. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.23079
Turner, S. M., Johnson, M. R., Beidel, D. C., Heiser, N. A., & Lydiard, R. B. (2003). The Social Thoughts and Beliefs Scale: A New Inventory for Assessing Cognitions in Social Phobia. Psychological Assessment, 15(3), 384–391. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.15.3.384
Wang, X. D. (1999). Rating scales for mental health. Beijing, China:Chinese Mental Health Journal Press.
Wilson, G. D., & Roland, D. (2002). Performance Anxiety. In R. Parncutt & G. McPherson (Eds.), The Science & Psychology of Music Performance (pp. 47–61). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195138108.003.0004
Wolfe, M. L. (1989). Correlates of adaptive and maladaptive musical performance anxiety. Med. Probl. Perform. Art, 4, 49–56.
Yang, Y. (2025). Traditional Chinese values and perfectionism: Impacts on MPA in Chinese piano students. Queen’s University Belfast.
Yang, Y., Lei, P., Huang, Z., Yu, H., & Zhang, H. (2025). The impact of professional music performance competence on performance anxiety: the mediating role of psychological risk and moderating role of psychological resilience. Frontiers in Psychology, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1565215

Liu, Q., & Ang, M. F. (2026). Factor Structure and Validation of the Chinese Version of the Mazzarolo Music Performance Anxiety Scale (M-MPAS-Cn). International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 16(4), 686–700.