The Effect of Mindfulness Programs on Collegiate Test Anxiety
Nathaniel P. Priebe, B. Kurtz-Costes
Mindfulness October 21, 2022 DOI: 10.1007/s12671-022-02002-6 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 71 |
| Population | Undergraduate college students |
| Duration | 6-week intervention for two conditions, 3-week intervention for one condition |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation |
| Keywords | Education |
| Key findings | Online mindfulness-based interventions reduced test anxiety and increased mindfulness in college students, but a six-week intervention was no more effective than a three-week intervention, and a sham mindfulness control also produced similar improvements. |
Abstract
Affecting approximately one-fifth of college students, test anxiety is a source of academic failure that leads to worse exam performance and academic retention. The present study assessed the efficacy of online mindfulness-based interventions at reducing collegiate test anxiety. Undergraduate college students (N = 71) were randomly assigned to a six-week mindfulness condition (n = 24), a three-week mindfulness condition (n = 21), or a six-week sham mindfulness active control condition (n = 26). Participants in each condition were assigned five weekly meditations and written reflections. Responses to online surveys captured participants’ reported levels of test anxiety and mindfulness pre- and post-intervention. Increases in mindfulness were associated with decreased reports of test anxiety, r(69) = − .48. Across all conditions, self-reported mindfulness increased, and self-reported test anxiety decreased from pre- to post-test, F(1, 68) = 19.5 and 28.9, p’s < .001, η2 = .06 and .05 respectively. Changes in the primary variables did not differ by condition, offering no empirical support for greater efficacy of a six-week as compared to a three-week intervention. The sham mindfulness control group also reported increases in mindfulness and decreases in test anxiety, raising questions about what intervention benefits are specific to mindfulness trainings. These findings suggest that online interventions are effective at reducing test anxiety in college students, though more research will inform how intervention length and content lead to changes in test anxiety and mindfulness.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on anxiety, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 6
- The Impact of Understanding and Openness on State Mindfulness Following a Brief Meditation: A Sham Controlled Study Mindfulness August 1, 2025
- Test anxiety, psychological adaptability, and learning performance: Effects of a mindfulness training intervention on university students. Journal of Education and Health Promotion July 31, 2025
- Calm the Mind, Unlock the Voice: A Bayesian Longitudinal Analysis of Mindfulness and EFL Speaking Anxiety International Journal of Applied Linguistics June 26, 2025
- The effectiveness of brief mindfulness training in reducing test anxiety among high school students BMC Psychology March 5, 2025
- Mindfulness for test anxiety and negative self-evaluation in high school Current Psychology October 1, 2024
and 1 more in the library
Cites 18
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