Coping with test anxiety using imagery rescripting: A two-session randomized controlled trial.

Autor: Kroener J; Research Division for Applied Psychotherapy and Psychiatry, Christophsbad Hospital, Jahnstrasse 30, 73037 Goeppingen, Germany; Medical Faculty, University of Ulm, Helmholzstrasse 16, 89081 Ulm, Germany. Electronic address: julia.kroener@uni-ulm.de., Maier A; Department for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy III, University Clinic of Ulm, Leimgrubenweg 12-14, 89075 Ulm, Germany., Berger A; Department for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy III, University Clinic of Ulm, Leimgrubenweg 12-14, 89075 Ulm, Germany., Sosic-Vasic Z; Research Division for Applied Psychotherapy and Psychiatry, Christophsbad Hospital, Jahnstrasse 30, 73037 Goeppingen, Germany; Medical Faculty, University of Ulm, Helmholzstrasse 16, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of affective disorders [J Affect Disord] 2024 Jul 01; Vol. 356, pp. 554-563. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Apr 20.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.04.067
Abstrakt: 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.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing interests.
(Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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