This study highlights about assessing test anxiety,
depression and academic performance and
managing them using Relaxation and Cognitive Restructuring Techniques.
Examination as a word evokes varying degrees of anxiety in students depending
on the importance of the examination, perceived difficulty level of the
subject, and degree of preparedness for the examination. A perceived difficult
subject would elicit higher anxiety levels, and test anxiety as a psychological
condition can adversely affect people in every field of life,and especially it
adversely affects students who face different examinations. Psychological
interventions like cognitive therapy are expected to lessen students' anxieties
and any other psychological distress, thereby improving their academic
performance. It is suspected that test anxiety may coexist with other forms of
psychological distress, such as depression. In an attempt to verify our
suspicion and confirm the expectation, 420 senior secondary school students
made up of 210 males and 210 females aged between 13 and 19 years responded to
test anxiety, trait anxiety, and depressive symptoms inventories. 72 of the
students whose test anxiety scores were higher than the group’s average score,
were divided into three groups and treated under three conditions of “no
treatment”, “relaxation treatment alone”, and combined “relaxation and
cognitive restructuring treatment”. Results obtained show that test anxiety,
trait anxiety, and de- pression co-exist and are positively related, and they
are negatively related to academic performance. Concerning test anxiety, a
positive relationship exists between trait and test anxiety in such a way that
as test anxiety increased, trait anxiety also increased. Students who suffer
from test anxiety also reported suffering from depression thereby confirming
depression as acorrelate of test anxiety. In addition, the combination of
relaxation and cognitive restructuring treatment reduced anxiety and depression
better than relaxation treatment alone or no treatment and improved test
performance of the students much more than any of the other two conditions. The
results thus support the usefulness of cognitive therapy in treating anxiety
and depression and enhancing academic achievement; the combination of cognitive
therapy and relaxation techniques maximizes academic performance.
Author(s) Details:
Esther F. Akinsola,
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of
Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria.
Augustina
Dubem Nwajei,
Department
of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos,
Nigeria.
Please see the link here: https://stm.bookpi.org/NVMMS-V1/article/view/13657
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