Coping with test anxiety using imagery rescripting: A two-session randomized controlled trial.
J Affect Disord
; 356: 554-563, 2024 Jul 01.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38649104
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Up to 55 % of students experience test anxiety (TA), which is characterized by intense physiological and psychological symptoms before or during exams, such as anxiety, fear of failure, sweating, or increased heart rate. Furthermore, TA increases graduation times and can result in discontinuance of the graduate program all together. Previous research demonstrated the beneficial effects of combining cognitive behavioral therapy with imagery rescripting, however, treatment programs are comparably long. Hence, they do not account for the students´ time-sensitive schedules. Therefore, the present study investigates a two-session short-intervention using imagery rescripting to treat TA.METHODS:
44 students and pupils were randomly assigned to either the two-session imagery rescripting intervention (22 participants) or the waitlist-control condition (22 participants). One week before the intervention clinical interviews were conducted and self-report questionnaires on TA, self-efficacy, symptoms of depression, and intrusive prospective images were completed (T1). The same questionnaires were completed one week (T2) and six months after the intervention (T3).RESULTS:
Test anxiety significantly decreased from T1 to T2, as well as from T1 to T3 within the intervention group. Furthermore, there were medium to large within and between group effects for situational test anxiety, self-efficacy, symptoms of depression, as well as prospective intrusive images, showing significant improvements for the intervention group at six months follow-up.LIMITATIONS:
The study is limited to the comparably small sample size, as well as the sole usage of self-report measurements.CONCLUSIONS:
The presented short-intervention provides a feasible treatment technique, which can be easily applied within school and university counseling centers.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Adaptación Psicológica
/
Imágenes en Psicoterapia
/
Ansiedad ante los Exámenes
Límite:
Adult
/
Female
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Humans
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Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Affect Disord
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
Pais de publicación:
Países Bajos