A Home-based Approach to Reduce Test Anxiety Using a Combination of Methods: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

AbstractIncreasing number of students struggle with test anxiety. Evidence based, online, affordable, and accessible solutions for test anxiety are scarce. The purpose of this study was to evaluate an online delivered, assisted intervention (REST-TA) in a randomized controlled trial.Participants (N = 178) were recruited through a university course and were randomized into a treatment group and waitlist control group. The treatment group completed an 8-week program which consisted of relaxation, skill training and cognitive behavioral methods. Both treatment and control group filled out a battery of questionnaires (TAMC-SF, STAI, DASS, MBI-SS, Resilience) pre and post-treatment.According to our results there was a significant reduction in test anxiety between pre and post intervention. We found a significant increase in trait anxiety, negative affectivity, and burnout in the control group, while no change or slight decrease in these scores in the treatment group. Our analyses also yielded a significant increase in resilience scores in the treatment group while resilience scores did not change for the control group.We conclude that REST-TA was successful at reducing test anxiety. Moreover, it helped to maintain the subjective well-being of students, while increasing resilience. Online solutions are a scalable option for universities to implement, therefore programs such as REST-TA could be of great help to improve the mental health of university students.