A 12-month follow-up of homogeneous and heterogeneous anxiety management training.

Reports the 12-mo follow-up of a study that compared the effectiveness of homogeneous or heterogeneous anxiety management training (AMT) in the reduction of targeted (test or speech) and nontargeted anxieties in 87 college students. At this follow-up, both forms of AMT led to continued reports of significantly less debilitating test or speech anxiety than exhibited by controls. Whereas neither the test nor speech anxious samples alone evidenced nontargeted anxiety reduction at the extended follow-up, the combined AMT group reported significantly less nontargeted anxiety than the combined control group on 1 of 2 nontargeted anxiety measures. No significant differences among groups were found for university retention or grades. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of anxiety management training and self-control desensitization.

Compared the effects of anxiety management training (AMT) and self-control desensitization (SCD) in reducing targeted (test anxiety) and nontargeted anxieties. Comparisons revealed that AMT and SCD effectively reduced state (worry, emotionality, and state test anxiety) and trait (Debilitating scale of Alpert-Haber Achievement Anxiety Test and test items from the Fear Inventory) debilitating test anxiety and increased facilitating text anxiety (Facilitating scale of the Achievement Anxiety Test) relative to controls. A 6-wk follow-up demonstrated maintenance of debilitating test anxiety reduction. No performance differences were found in analog testing, but Ss receiving treatment had significantly higher psychology grades than those not receiving treatment. Posttreatment findings reveal some nontargeted anxiety reduction for SCD; however, by follow-up both treatments evidenced significant nontargeted anxiety reduction. The results are discussed in terms of remedial and preventive functions met by the self-control interventions; the possibility of treating diverse anxieties within a single AMT group is also considered. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitions of test-anxious children.

Compared the cognitions of 294 low, moderate, and high test-anxious (the Test Anxiety Scale for Children) 5th and 6th graders in an analog test situation. High test-anxious Ss reported significantly more task-debilitating cognitions than either moderate- or low-anxious Ss, including negative evaluations and off-task thoughts. High test-anxious Ss also reported fewer positive evaluations than low test-anxious Ss, whereas moderately anxious Ss did not differ significantly from either extreme group. It was unexpected that the moderate- and high-anxious groups reported significantly more on-task thoughts than the low-anxious group and did not significantly differ from each other. Both test anxiety and cognitions showed significant although modest relations with actual task performance after the effects of ability were partialled out. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Treatment effectiveness of anxiety management training in small and large group formats.

The relative efficiency of anxiety management training (AMT) in a large group was compared to AMT in small groups and to a wait-list control. Ss were 67 undergraduates selected on basis of scores on the Trait scale of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Immediately after treatment, small-group AMT Ss reported significantly less general anxiety than controls. Follow-up at 7 wks revealed maintenance of this reduction of general anxiety and a further significant improvement on the Psychological Screening Inventory. In all comparisons, large-group AMT was not significantly different from either small group AMT or controls. No other significant differences among groups were found for personality variables, nontargeted anxieties, or grades. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of relaxation as self-control and systematic desensitization in the treatment of test anxiety.

Relaxation as self-control and desensitization were compared to a waiting-list control in the reduction of test and other anxieties in 43 undergraduates. Neither active treatment differed significantly from the other, but they did differ significantly from the control treatment on several variables. Ss in both treatments reported less debilitating test anxiety, whereas desensitization Ss showed greater facilitating test anxiety. Under stressful conditions, treated Ss were less worried and anxious, found the situation less aversive, and perceived themselves and their abilities more favorably than controls. Significant reductions in nontargeted anxieties suggested transfer of anxiety-management skills to areas other than test anxiety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Misattribution and speech anxiety.

30 high-speech-anxious and 30 low-speech-anxious Ss participated in an experiment to test the hypothesis that misattribution would reduce the anxiety of speech-anxious Ss. The present study crosscut misattribution vs no misattribution (control) and high vs low speech anxiety and assessed the impact on Ss' nervous behavior and subsequent speech making. The misattribution concerning bodily preparation for Ss' speech-making events was delivered verbally to 15 speech-anxious and 15 nonanxious Ss prior to their speeches. Results show that misattribution did not significantly affect the behavior of Ss making speeches. Implications for misattribution when personality traits are involved are discussed. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two self-control procedures in the reduction of targeted and nontargeted anxieties.

Compared the effects of relaxation as self-control and a self-control variant of systematic desensitization (SD) in reducing targeted (test anxiety) and nontargeted anxieties with those of wait-list and no-treatment expectancy controls; 12 male and 57 female undergraduates were Ss. Immediately following counseling and at follow-up, groups given relaxation as self-control and SD both reported significantly less debilitating test anxiety and significantly more facilitating test anxiety than controls. In a stressful analog testing condition, self-control groups reported significantly less worry, emotionality, and state test anxiety than controls. While no performance differences were found in the analog situation, relaxation as self-control and modified SD Ss had significantly higher psychology grades than the no-treatment expectancy group. Grades of the wait-list group were not significantly different from those of other groups. The relaxation as self-control group showed reduction and maintenance on both measures of nontargeted anxiety relative to the controls. The modified SD group showed posttreatment reduction on both nontargeted anxiety measures but maintenance on only one. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Test anxiety and academic performance: The effects of study-related behaviors.

Investigated (a) the relationship of test anxiety to academic performance in college students, (b) differences in study-related behaviors between high and low test-anxious Ss, and (c) differential effectiveness of study-related behaviors for both groups. Undergraduate Ss were 65 high and 31 low scorers on the Test Anxiety Scale. Results demonstrate a significant decrement in GPA associated with test anxiety. High test-anxious Ss were also found to have poorer study skills. For high test-anxious Ss, quality of study habits and amount of study time were positively related to academic performance, whereas missing classes and delaying exams were inversely related to performance. Findings are discussed in terms of the prevailing interference model of test anxiety. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of anxiety management training and desensitization in reducing test and other anxieties.

Compared the effectiveness of systematic desensitization (SD) and anxiety management training (AMT) on 22 and 18 college students, respectively, in reducing test anxiety [Test Anxiety Scale (TAS) and Test Anxiety Behavior Scale] and generalizing to other anxieties. Both SD and AMT produced significant reduction of test anxiety, but by follow-up, AMT produced significantly more test-anxiety reduction on the TAS. On one measure of nontargeted anxieties (Fear Inventory) both AMT and SD produced and maintained significant anxiety reduction. However, on the other measure (Trait Anxiety Inventory), AMT reduced anxiety significantly by follow-up, whereas SD produced no change at all. Results are discussed in terms of the superiority and advantages of AMT for remedial and preventive counseling functions. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond the uniformity myth: A comparison of academically successful and unsuccessful test-anxious college students.

72 college students were administered a battery of tests including the Test Anxiety Scale, Worry-Emotionality Scale, Fear of Negative Evaluation, and Academic Self-Evaluation Questionnaire. Two levels of test anxiety were crossed with 2 levels of academic performance in a factorial design. High-anxious Ss differed from low-anxious Ss on traditional cognitive and somatic indicators of test anxiety, but not on any measure of study or test-taking skills. Ss with high grades, regardless of their anxiety level, scored higher on measures of academic skills than Ss in both "low" performing groups. A measure assessing ability to control negative internal dialog revealed significant differences only between performance groups, implicating cognitive control as a factor influencing academic performance. Expectations that Ss had about the amount of material they needed to know to be prepared for examinations were related to test anxiety, especially among successful but anxious Ss. Implications are noted for designing interventions specifically tailored to the needs of 2 types of test-anxious students: those who perform well in school and those who are less successful. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two self-control procedures in the reduction of targeted and nontargeted anxieties: A year later.

Reports a 12-mo follow-up of a study by the authors (see record 1979-29126-001) that investigated the effects of self-control interventions on targeted (test) and nontargeted anxieties. One yr after the initial 6-wk follow-up, relaxation-as-self-control and modified-desensitization groups showed maintenance of reductions in debilitating test anxiety and continued to report significantly less debilitating test anxiety than the no-treatment control group. No significant differences among groups were found for either facilitating test anxiety or GPAs. Both self-control groups tended to show maintenance of nontargeted anxiety reductions, with relaxation-as-self-control Ss reporting significantly less nontargeted anxiety than controls; the differences on nontargeted anxiety measures only approached significance for Ss in the modified desensitization condition. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Test anxiety, academic performance, and cognitive appraisals.

Investigated the impact of test anxiety on test performance and the cognitive appraisals of test-anxious students. To overcome limitations of previous research, state and dispositional measures of test anxiety were used over repeated performance trials. 62 Ss who were enrolled in an undergraduate statistics course that required multiple examinations were administered the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and served as Ss. Ss' expectations, thoughts, and performance were assessed at each of the 4 examination occasions. Results indicate that test anxiety was related to poor test performance both early and late in the term. When state anxiety levels were controlled for, the test anxiety–test performance relation was apparent only during the later stages of the course. The pattern of Ss' anxiety and appraisals suggests that test-anxious Ss experienced most doubt and concern early in the term. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Test anxiety and helping behaviour.

Examined children's helping behavior as a function of test anxiety level and evaluative conditions. After taking the Test Anxiety Scale for Children, 72 4th graders completed a task under either evaluative or nonevaluative conditions, and then were given an opportunity to help a younger child with a sorting task. Examination of a significant interaction between anxiety and evaluation revealed that highly test-anxious Ss were most sensitive to the evaluative manipulation, being less likely to help in the evaluative than in the nonevaluative condition. Helping behavior of less anxious Ss did not vary with evaluation. It is suggested that relationships between personality variables and helping behavior should be examined only in combination with clearly specified situational variables. (French summary) (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A helper model for behavioral treatment of speech anxiety.

Assessed the effect of speech-anxious Ss acting as behavior therapists for other speech-anxious Ss. 41 undergraduates were divided into helper, helpee, latent helper, and waiting list control groups. Helpers learned behavioral techniques for anxiety reduction in a training seminar and then taught the techniques to the helpee group. Latent helpers only participated in the training seminar and did not train other Ss until after the posttreatment assessment. Both the helpers and helpees significantly reduced speech anxiety on each behavioral and self-report measure relative to the waiting list control group at posttreatment, and the improvement was maintained at a 3-mo follow-up. At posttreatment, the latent helpers improved on all self-report measures and one of the behavioral measures. The helpers showed more absolute improvement on each measure than the helpees or latent helpers; however, none of these differences was significant. The use of people with behavioral problems as therapists for others with similar problems is discussed from a therapeutic and an economic perspective. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-desensitization and meditation in the reduction of public speaking anxiety.

Assigned 38 speech-anxious students to the following self-administered treatment conditions: (a) systematic desensitization, (b) desensitization with meditation replacing progressive relaxation, (c) meditation only, and (d) no treatment. All 3 treatment manuals included coping-skill instructions. The results indicate that the 3 treatments were equally effective in reducing anxiety and produced a greater reduction in self-reported (but not behavioral) anxiety than that found in untreated Ss. Reliable changes in physiological manifestations of anxiety were found only in Ss who rated the treatment rationale as highly credible. High credibility ratings were also associated with significantly greater reductions in self-reported anxiety. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-concept change in behavior modification.

Studied changes in self-concept as a function of behavioral treatment for test anxiety. 72 test-anxious (Alpert-Haber Achievement Anxiety Test) undergraduates were randomly assigned to systematic desensitization (SD) relaxation-training only, or no-treatment control conditions. Levels of test anxiety, self-esteem, and self-ideal-self discrepancy are assessed prior to and following treatment. The SD and relaxation treatments were both effective in reducing test anxiety. Ss' ratings of satisfaction with treatment were equivalent in the 2 treatment conditions. SD Ss showed improvement in self-esteem and significant reductions in self-ideal-self discrepancies; however, Ss who received relaxation training only, or no treatment, did not change significantly. This differential effectiveness of the SD and relaxation procedures is discussed in terms of the beneficial effects of imagined successful coping. Comparisons of Ss' changes in test anxiety and in self-concept suggest that an explanation of change based on simple generalization of treatment effects would be sufficient. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitions of test-anxious children under naturalistic test-taking conditions.

Investigated the cognitions of 115 low, 126 moderate, and 125 high test-anxious 5th and 6th graders under naturalistic test-taking conditions. 57% of the Ss were female, 88% were White, and 61% were upper middle class. The Ss were classified according to scores on the Test Anxiety Scale for Children. As predicted, high test-anxious Ss showed more task-debilitating cognitions during testing, including more negative self-evaluations and off-task thoughts and fewer positive self-evaluations. High test-anxious Ss also showed relatively high frequencies of on-task thoughts and coping self-statements. The study also examined the role of classroom environment in the test anxiety-performance relation. Relative to their peers, the performance of high test-anxious Ss was debilitated only in classrooms that were high in perceived evaluative threat. Moreover, significant relations between cognitions and mathematic performance were obtained only in high-threat classrooms, and these relations were maintained when the effects of mathematic ability were statistically controlled. It is suggested that future test-anxiety research and clinical intervention might view test anxiety within a broader theoretical context of person-environment fit. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance, cognition, and physiological responding in test anxiety.

Autonomic (skin conductance and resistance, heart rate, and heart rate variability), self-report (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and causal attributions of task performance), and performance (modified Stroop Color–Word Test and 8 difficult anagrams) measures of anxiety were collected from 36 test-anxious and 36 non-test-anxious (Test Anxiety Scale) female undergraduates in an analog testing situation under 3 experimental conditions. High-test-anxious (HTA) Ss performed more poorly and reported higher levels of anxious arousal and worry in the analog testing situation than low-test-anxious (LTA) Ss. Also, self-evaluations of test performance made by HTA Ss differed from those made by LTA Ss in being more negative and unrelated to actual test performance. However, HTA and LTA Ss showed virtually identical changes in electrodermal activity and heart rate in response to the stress of the testing situation. Only heart rate variability, which appeared to reflect differences in the cognitive and attentional responses of the test anxiety groups, successfully differentiated HTA and LTA Ss. Results support cognitive formulations of test anxiety and indicate that deficits in information processing associated with test anxiety do not result from maladaptive levels of autonomic arousal. (56 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Instructional desensitization: A semantic behavior treatment of anxiety disorder.

Explored the efficacy of instructional desensitization (ID) in the treatment of public speaking anxiety, using 30 speech-anxious undergraduates as Ss. Three self-report measures of confidence, affect, and anxiousness were completed by Ss, and 20 behavioral manifestations of anxiety were observed during Ss' delivery of a 4-min speech. Ss were randomly assigned to ID, placebo, or waiting list groups. Ss in the placebo group were led to believe that they were receiving a new form of therapy. Results show that ID Ss showed a significant decrement in their anxiety reactions as measured by objective and subjective anxiety measures. A significant anxiety decrement was also found in placebo Ss. However, self-report gains were not verified by objective observations. It is concluded that ID is a new semantic behavior therapy intervention that may have beneficial effects in the treatment of a broad variety of anxiety disorders. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

False physiological feedback and the maintenance of speech anxiety.

Assessed the effects of physiological feedback during actual exposure to a feared situation and during a subsequent exposure. 60 speech-anxious Ss were exposed during the 2nd of 3 consecutive speeches to 1 of 5 false feedback conditions: heart rate decreasing, no change in heart rate, heart rate increasing, and 2 control procedures. No anxiety differences were found among the groups on the 2nd (feedback) speech. The heart-rate-increase group displayed significantly higher self-reported anxiety, overt anxiety signs, and speech disfluencies during the 3rd (posttest) speech than the heart-rate-decrease and no-change groups. Initial exposure to the speech situation produced striking heart-rate reaction in the total group, and repeated exposures continued to elicit strong, though gradually habituating, reactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)