Background

: University life is characterized by the multiple demands faced by students. Exams are events of great concern that can trigger harmful stress responses. Perceptions about one’s own efficacy in achieving goals are associated with cognitive, emotional, and behavioral processes.

Objective

: to analyze the association between self-efficacy for coping with stress, cognitive test anxiety and physical and psychoemotional symptoms of stress in university students in a pandemic context.

Method

: cross-sectional descriptive-correlational design. 314 university students participated (M = 23, SD = 6.05).

Results

: significant correlations were found between the variables examined. The proposed model showed that stress coping self-efficacy (efficacy and outcome) and cognitive test anxiety explain 39% physical and psycho-emotional stress symptomatology variance.

Conclusions

: students present greater vulnerability to feelings of anxiety and stress exacerbated by the healthcare context. The study of these variables provides an updated perspective of the psycho-emotional interactions that condition the capacity to face university challenges