Reducing Test Anxiety in High School Students

July 28, 2022 updated by: Frederico Rosário, MD, PhD, Agrupamento de Centros de Saúde de Dão Lafões

Efficacy of a Cognitive Behavioural-based Intervention in Reducing Test Anxiety in High School Students: a Pilot Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

School-age test anxiety is an important risk factor for school performance. Notwithstanding, few studies seek to identify which strategies are effective in improving test anxiety. This study aimed to test whether a cognitive-behavioural intervention for high school students could significantly reduce test anxiety.

A two-arm, cluster-randomized controlled, unblinded, parallel, trial was conducted. Participants were students of the 10th year of the Alves Martins High School in Viseu, Portugal. Students were randomized at class level to receive a cognitive-behavioural-based intervention combined with mindfulness, psychoeducation, and relaxation techniques, or to a control group with no intervention. Participants' anxiety levels were measured using the Test Anxiety Questionnaire. The analysis of the effect of the intervention was carried out on an intention-to-treat basis at the class level, using multilevel mixed effects models and Bayesian modelling.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

519

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Portugal
      • Viseu, Portugal
        • Alves Martins High School

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 10th grade students; both students and parents provide written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • cognitive inability to answer the questionnaire and/or to participate in the intervention

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control
Care as usual
Experimental: Intervention
Cognitive-behavioural-based intervention combined with mindfulness, psychoeducation, and relaxation techniques
Behavioral: Intervention
Cognitive-behavioural-based intervention combined with mindfulness (attention focus), psychoeducation, and relaxation techniques (short version of Jacobson's progressive relaxation, breathing exercises)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Test anxiety
Time Frame: 12 weeks
Participants' test anxiety will be assessed using the Test Anxiety Questionnaire. Scores on the questionnaire range from 10 to 50 points. Higher scores mean higher anxiety levels.
12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Worry
Time Frame: 12 weeks
Participants' worry will be assessed using the Worry subscale (items 1-5) of the Test Anxiety Questionnaire. Scores on the questionnaire range from 5 to 25 points. Higher scores mean higher worry-related anxiety levels.
12 weeks
Emotionality
Time Frame: 12 weeks
Participants' emotionality will be assessed using the Emotionality subscale (items 6-10) of the Test Anxiety Questionnaire. Scores on the questionnaire range from 5 to 25 points. Higher scores mean higher emotionality-related anxiety levels.
12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Agrupamento de Centros de Saúde de Dão Lafões

Collaborators

Casa de Saúde São Mateus - Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

December 1, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 10, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

March 10, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 27, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 28, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

August 1, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 1, 2022

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 28, 2022

Last Verified

July 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Anxiety-2020

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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