Neele Reiss1, Irene Warnecke2, Theano Tolgou3, Dorothea Krampen3, Ursula Luka-Krausgrill4, Sonja Rohrmann4. 1. Department of Psychology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Electronic address: n.reiss@psych.uni-frankfurt.de. 2. Department of Psychology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Center for Student Counseling, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany. 3. Department of Psychology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. 4. Center for Student Counseling, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:Test anxiety is a common condition in students, which may lead to impaired academic performance as well as to distress. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of two cognitive-behavioral interventions designed to reduce test anxiety. Test anxiety in the participants was diagnosed as social or specific phobia according to DSM-IV. Subsequently subjects were randomized to three groups: a moderated self-help group, which served as a control group, and two treatment groups, where either relaxation techniques or imagery rescripting were applied. METHODS:Students suffering from test anxiety were recruited at two German universities (n=180). The randomized controlled design comprised three groups which received test anxiety treatment in weekly three-hour sessions over a period of five weeks. Treatment outcome was assessed with a test anxiety questionnaire, which was administered before and after treatment, as well as in a six-month follow-up. RESULTS: A repeated-measures ANOVA for participants with complete data (n=59) revealed a significant reduction of test anxiety from baseline to six-month follow-up in all three treatment groups (p<.001). LIMITATIONS: Participants were included if they had a clinical diagnosis of test anxiety. The sample may therefore represent only more severe forms of text anxiety . Moreover, the sample size in this study was small, the numbers of participants per group differed, and treatment results were based on self-report. Due to the length of the treatment, an implementation of the group treatments used in this study might not be feasible in all settings. CONCLUSIONS: Group treatments constitute an effective method of treating test anxiety, e.g. in university settings. Imagery rescripting may particularly contribute to treatment efficacy.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: Test anxiety is a common condition in students, which may lead to impaired academic performance as well as to distress. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of two cognitive-behavioral interventions designed to reduce test anxiety. Test anxiety in the participants was diagnosed as social or specific phobia according to DSM-IV. Subsequently subjects were randomized to three groups: a moderated self-help group, which served as a control group, and two treatment groups, where either relaxation techniques or imagery rescripting were applied. METHODS: Students suffering from test anxiety were recruited at two German universities (n=180). The randomized controlled design comprised three groups which received test anxiety treatment in weekly three-hour sessions over a period of five weeks. Treatment outcome was assessed with a test anxiety questionnaire, which was administered before and after treatment, as well as in a six-month follow-up. RESULTS: A repeated-measures ANOVA for participants with complete data (n=59) revealed a significant reduction of test anxiety from baseline to six-month follow-up in all three treatment groups (p<.001). LIMITATIONS: Participants were included if they had a clinical diagnosis of test anxiety. The sample may therefore represent only more severe forms of text anxiety . Moreover, the sample size in this study was small, the numbers of participants per group differed, and treatment results were based on self-report. Due to the length of the treatment, an implementation of the group treatments used in this study might not be feasible in all settings. CONCLUSIONS: Group treatments constitute an effective method of treating test anxiety, e.g. in university settings. Imagery rescripting may particularly contribute to treatment efficacy.
Authors: Anna Maier; Caroline Schaitz; Julia Kröner; Alexander Berger; Ferdinand Keller; Petra Beschoner; Bernhard Connemann; Zrinka Sosic-Vasic Journal: Front Psychiatry Date: 2021-11-30 Impact factor: 4.157
Authors: Clara Zwettler; Neele Reiss; Sonja Rohrmann; Irene Warnecke; Ursula Luka-Krausgrill; Rolf van Dick Journal: Health Psychol Open Date: 2018-07-05
Authors: Anna Maier; Caroline Schaitz; Julia Kröner; Bernhard Connemann; Zrinka Sosic-Vasic Journal: Front Psychiatry Date: 2020-02-28 Impact factor: 4.157