The problem of this study was to measure the generalization of the effects of group systematic desensitization of test anxiety on certain coexistent anxieties in college students.

Many college students exercise individually or participate in collegiate and intramural sports in addition to fulfilling their stressful academic requirements. The combination of accumulated stress and vigorous exercise could result in an impaired immune system, prompting the onset of disease and absences in class and sports practice. Twenty-six male and female participants aged 18 to 23 were recruited for this study. Over the course of an academic semester, participants completed weekly electronic surveys documenting stress levels, aerobic exercise, and symptoms related to upper respiratory tract infections. Participants were evaluated at four different time points (Baseline, Post-Midterm Exam, Baseline Reassessment, and Post-Final Exam) for body fat percentage, cardiovascular fitness, heart rate, blood pressure, and a 10mL blood draw. Blood samples were used to measure blood glucose, cortisol, IL-6, and CD11b levels. Analysis of cortisol and IL-6 concentrations required ELISA kits for protein quantification in plasma samples. CD11b levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples were measured by Western Blot analysis. There was a significant increase in blood pressure during the final exam compared to rest for systolic (p=0.005) and diastolic (p=0.004) blood pressures. There was a significant decrease in anxiety during the final exam compared to anxiety during the mid-term exam (p=0.022). The acute stress of an exam was strong enough to illicit physiologic blood pressure change, but the chronic stress throughout the semester was not intense enough did not illicit physiologic or immune responses. The volume of aerobic exercise in the vigorous workout group was not great enough to influence immune responses nor disease incidence.

The focus of this study was to explore the effects of training with Electromyogram (EMG) feedback relaxation on test anxiety and academic achievement. Subjects were 60 students from an Introductory Psychology Class who scored highest on the Suinn Test Anxiety Behavior Scale (STABS). Subjects were divided into three groups: (1) EMG training, (2) Attention, and (3) Control. Treatment was 12 sessions over a six-week period. A pretest and posttest of the STABS was used as a measure of anxiety with the measure of academic achievement being the first and fourth tests in the Psychology class. Analysis of covariance was used to evaluate the data. No significant difference was found between the adjusted posttest means for anxiety reduction or academic achievement.

I denna studie har prestationsångest undersökts i relation till tre olika typer av socialt stöd och två faktorer inom tidspress. Tidigare forskning pekar på att socialt stöd spelar en betydande roll för minskad prestationsångest i studier, samt att tidspress ger en ökad effekt. Undersökningen hade 151 manliga studenter från två olika program på en högskola. Mätningen av socialt stöd och tidspress skedde genom en tvåvägs variansanalys för oberoende mätningar för att få fram om hur dessa huvudeffekter har en inverkan på prestationsångest. Resultatet visade att högt socialt stöd och lite tidspress minskar prestationsångest samtidigt som lågt socialt stöd och mycket tidspress leder till ökad prestationsångest. En åtgärd för ökat socialt stöd kan vara att aktivt arbeta för en större sammanhållning mellan studenterna. Vi valde att endast undersöka män för att tidigare forskning kring detta ämne har haft stor fokus på endast kvinnor.

With the advent of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB, 2001), students are regularly faced with high stakes tests and classroom-based assessments to determine if they are meeting grade level educational standards. Estimates suggest that up to 40% of children may experience significant anxiety surrounding evaluations (e.g., McDonald, 2001; Turner, Beidel, Hughes, & Turner, 1993) and research shows that this test anxiety can negatively impact school performance (e.g., Abu-Rabia, 2004; Putwain, 2008) and mental health (e.g., Barksdale-Ladd & Thomas, Weems et al., 2010). As a result, test anxiety has become a topic of concern for researchers, educators, and mental health practitioners. The construct of test anxiety can be defined as the experience of marked psychological distress when faced with evaluative situations (McDonald, 2001). While researchers have discussed effective methods used to reduce test anxiety symptoms, much of this literature has focused on intervention within clinic settings rather than within the school environment (Gregor, 2005). Research in this area also tends to concentrate on older children and adults instead of elementary-aged students (Gregor, 2005; Weems et al., 2010). To address these gaps within the intervention literature, the purpose of the current pilot study was to develop, implement, and evaluate a school-based small group intervention designed to reduce test anxiety and increase coping skills in third grade students. The intervention was hypothesized to increase students’ awareness and use of stress management strategies, improve cognitive flexibility and inhibition of automatic anxious thoughts, decrease symptoms of anxiety, and increase confidence in their ability to face evaluative situations. Results of paired-sample t tests indicated that students reported significantly increased knowledge of test anxiety reduction strategies and a greater willingness to implement these strategies. Trend level gains in cognitive flexibility were discovered, though results were not statistically significant. Despite growth in student knowledge and cognitive flexibility, anxiety was not significantly reduced. Quantitative and qualitative findings suggested that the intervention was implemented with integrity and was acceptable to participants and facilitators. Results are discussed and implications for future directions in research and practice are suggested.

Test anxiety can act as a major inhibitor for students to perform to their ability. Students can find that what life decisions they are going to be afforded is going to be determined by a series of multiple choice mathematics questions. There must be a way to deal with their test anxiety so that the true nature of their knowledge is displayed, and in the process promote learning. Meditative breathing, stretching, and physical activity have been shown to reduce stress. Furthermore, physical activity has also shown an effect on behavioral and cognitive states. This study investigates if these activities can be used in the classroom to promote learning and achievement within a mathematics course. In order to find students who share a minimum level of physical fitness and operate under some of the most stressful conditions possible, the participants were chosen from mathematics courses taught to sailors while on deployment. Two same class ships were chosen to be a part of the study. Each ship had courses split into exercise groups and a control group. Students were given a pre-test followed by eight weeks of instruction and then a post-test, interview data was collected after the course. During the instruction, weekly reviews were set so control groups were rewarded with points for correct answers and exercise groups were tasked with physical activity for incorrect answers. Study A found that post test scores were not significantly different between the exercise and control group. However, the exercise group did attend more tutoring events than their counterparts. Interview data did indicate students in the exercise group felt a greater sense of engagement, fun, and camaraderie. Based upon variations in mathematic exposure between the two groups another study was planned to find participant groups that were closer reflections of each other. Study B was conducted with a more reflective representation of student math background. The results found that the exercise group scored higher in post-test and tutoring events than the control group. Interview data also showed consistent results with Study A, where the exercise group reported a greater sense of engagement, fun and camaraderie.

The negative impact of test anxiety has been well documented in the literature with empirical studies demonstrating the existence of a negative relationship between test anxiety and academic performance (Schwarzer, 1990; Seipp, 1991). In 1967, test anxiety was determined to be a problem for 10% of school aged children (Klondas). A decade later, studies suggested this rate was closer to 25 or 30% (Nottelmann & Hill, 1977). In a study of a Pittsburgh area school district, Beidel (1991) found clinically significant Test Anxiety Scale for Children (TASC) scores in 34% of students in a suburban school district that is predominantly white and has a middle to upper socioeconomic status, and 36% of students in an urban district comprised of mixed racial and socioeconomic groups. This data suggests that the prevalence of test anxiety has increased over time. Teachers are in a unique position to assist students in managing their anxiety through research based intervention and behavioral techniques. The results of this research will determine how much information is beneficial to the teacher in order for them to provide the best services for students who present with test anxiety. The role of the school psychologist will also be examined. / School of Education; / School Psychology / PhD; / Dissertation;

Anxiety and depression are debilitating disorders that often co-occur. Their differentiation has important ramifications for theory and treatment. Beck's (1976) Cognitive Content Specificity (CCS) hypothesis proposes that depression and anxiety are characterized by unique cognitive profiles that should be reflected, among other variables, in their cognitions. Further, the Balanced States of Mind model (BSOM; Schwartz, 1997) asserts that the cognitive ratio of positive to the sum of positive and negative cognitions is implicated in distinguishing various levels of pathology from optimal functioning. The present study used a cross-sectional design to compare the differentiating abilities of the CCS hypothesis and the joint CCS/BSOM model by examining depression and test anxiety-relevant positive and negative cognitions separately versus the BSOM cognitive ratios. Additionally, the specific interval predictions of the BSOM model were tested for test anxiety and depressive content. Four groups of college women were selected from a larger sample of college women from a large public university: Depressed (n = 51), Test Anxious (n = 51), "Mixed" Depressed and Test Anxious (n = 51), and Control (n = 51). Findings indicated that the Depressed Group differed from Test Anxious Group on test anxious and depressive negative cognitions and BSOM ratios. Consistent with previous literature, positive anxious content yielded less specificity, as it failed to discriminate between test anxious and depressed groups. While the "Mixed" group was most dysfunctional, Controls showed a least dysfunctional cognitive profile on both cognitions and cognitive ratios. Thus, the quantitative parameters of the BSOM model with varying content were partially validated, with depressive content not fitting the predictions as well as test anxious content. Results support the integration of the CCS and BSOM models and the use of a specific anxiety disorder (i.e., test anxiety) as ways to improve depression-anxiety differentiation in nonclinical populations. Theoretical and treatment implications are highlighted, and limitations are discussed.

This dissertation investigated the effectiveness of a newly designed intervention for adolescents with test anxiety. This CBT-based intervention is comprised of two parts: self-guided psychoeducational computer modules, and an online social networking group. The intervention was designed to provide adolescents with an effective means of reducing test anxiety symptoms, delivered through a familiar medium—the Internet. This study was conducted in classrooms in Houston, TX, with high school student participants. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: those receiving the computer modules component only, those receiving the computer modules and social networking group, and those receiving no treatment (control). Test anxiety levels were assessed with the self-report Test Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, et al., 1980). Changes in test anxiety levels over time were compared to changes in a measure of academic achievement. The author compared changes in test anxiety level among the three groups using repeated measures ANOVA. It was hypothesized that participants in the two treatment groups would show improvements in test anxiety symptoms over time, while those in the control condition would not. It was further hypothesized that decreases in test anxiety symptoms would correlate with increases in academic achievement. Participants in all three groups showed some decrease in anxiety symptoms. There were no statistically significant differences between groups; however, there were some intriguing trends in the computer module only group, which showed a clinically meaningful, but not statistically different, decrease in anxiety. There was no association between changes in test anxiety symptoms and academic achievement. Results of this study suggest that this intervention may not currently present an effective option for treating the symptoms of test anxiety. Results may be used to make data-driven improvements to address the limitations and unforeseen weaknesses of this intervention approach. / text

The current research project has addressed the issue of the stress and anxiety experienced by Australian senior high school students as they prepare to undertake their final year examinations. Two studies were conducted. The first study looked at the feelings experienced by senior high school students, resources available to them to assist with exam preparation, resources actually accessed, and the strategies used to cope with examinations and associated feelings. Focus group interviews were conducted with 14 Year 11 and 13 Year 12 students from a public senior high school in Perth, Western Australia. Results indicated that students tend to most frequently report using avoidance strategies to cope with preparing and undertaking examinations, supporting previous research findings (e.g., Zeidner, 1996). The second study examined the effectiveness of a group based, cognitive behavioural program purposely designed to teach students strategies for coping specifically with test anxiety and also generalized anxiety symptoms. The program involved seven one-hour weekly sessions implemented with 31 Year 12 students who were undertaking their final year examinations. The program covered education about the nature and causes of stress and anxiety, relaxation training, cognitive restructuring, imaginal exposure and study skills training. The pre- and post-intervention scores on the TAI and RCMAS were analyzed using 2 (group) x 2 (gender) x 3 (symptom severity level) full factorial repeated measures ANOVAS. At pre-intervention, there were no significant differences between the treatment (N=31) and control (N=6), except for RCMAS Worry and Over Sensitivity, whereby the treatment group had a higher mean score, consistent with the greater ratio of female to male participants in the treatment group compared to the control group. At post intervention, the treatment group had reduced scores from preintervention levels for TAI Worry and Emotionality, RCMAS Total Anxiety, Physiological, Worry and Over Sensitivity and the Social Issues and Concentration subscales. In contrast, the post-intervention scores for the control group for these measures had increased from pre-intervention levels. However, there was no significant main effect for Group. Anecdotal program evaluation results from the treatment group students revealed that relaxation training was considered the most helpful aspect of the program. In contrast, at-home practice activities were considered the least helpful. A majority of participating students also reported that they believed the program would help them to manage stress and anxiety associated with examinations and other life stressors. Despite the lack of significant differences between the treatment and control groups in the current study, the pattern of results obtained generally followed that of previous research on the treatment of symptoms for test anxiety (e.g., Wessel & Mersch, 1994) and generalized anxiety (e.g., Kendall, 1994) employing a CBT approach. While the results of the current study may have been limited by the relatively small sample sizes of the treatment and control groups, the short- and longterm benefits of providing training in appropriate coping strategies for test anxiety, such as those involved in cognitive behavioural intervention, are further highlighted.