Using Systematic Desensitization to Create a Mindfulness Activity for Nursing Students With Test Anxiety
Allison Collins
Nursing Education Perspectives September 1, 2024 DOI: 10.1097/01.nep.0000000000001317 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 107 |
| Population | Community college undergraduate nursing students |
| Interventions | Mindfulness podcast Muscle relaxation |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation |
| Key findings | Nursing students who received a mindfulness intervention combining a podcast with muscle relaxation showed significantly lower post-intervention test anxiety scores than a control group. The authors propose that systematic desensitization, framed as a type of mindfulness, can help nursing students decrease test anxiety. |
Abstract
Abstract Undergraduate nursing students are voicing high levels of test anxiety within their learning environments. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a mindfulness intervention, using systematic desensitization, on community college nursing students’ test anxiety. Data were collected and analyzed with a sample of 107 students randomly selected for a control and intervention group. The intervention group, which listened to a mindfulness podcast while using muscle relaxation, had significantly lower post-intervention test anxiety scores (p <. 001) than the control group. Systematic desensitization is a type of mindfulness that nursing students can use to decrease test anxiety.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on anxiety, most cited first.