The Effectiveness of Daily Mindful Breathing Practices on Test Anxiety of Students.
Hyunju Cho, Seokjin Ryu, Jeeae Noh, Jongsun Lee
PLoS One October 20, 2016 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0164822 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 36 |
| Population | University students |
| Interventions | Mindful breathing practice Cognitive reappraisal practice |
| Duration | 6 days of self-training after one education session |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation |
| Keywords | Humans Breathing exercises Adaptation, psychological Students Female Young adult |
| Key findings | Both daily mindful breathing and cognitive reappraisal practices yielded large effect sizes in reducing test anxiety, but mindful breathing led to significantly higher positive automatic thoughts than cognitive reappraisal or no training. The authors suggest mindful breathing may be particularly beneficial for increasing positive thinking alongside anxiety reduction. |
Abstract
The present study examined the effectiveness of daily mindful breathing practices on test anxiety of university students. A total of 36 participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a training mindful breathing condition (n = 12), a training cognitive reappraisal condition (contrast group, n = 12), and a non-training condition (control group, n = 12). Each of the participants trained by themselves for 6 days after they had taken one session of education for mindful or cognitive reappraisal practices. They wrote their experiences on daily worksheets and sent it by mobile with taking pictures that were confirmed by the researcher. Before and after training, each of the participants completed a questionnaire to assess: test anxiety, positive thought, and positive affect. The results of the study showed that both mindful breathing practice and cognitive reappraisal practice yielded large effect sizes in reducing test anxiety. In addition, the mindful breathing condition scored significantly higher on positive thoughts than the cognitive reappraisal and control conditions. The findings of this study suggest that both daily mindful breathing and cognitive reappraisal practices were effective in reducing test anxiety; however, mindful breathing increased positive automatic thoughts to a greater extent than cognitive reappraisal.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on anxiety, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 17
- A Practitioner’s Guide to Breathwork in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Journal of Mental Health Counseling 2020
- Mindfulness based interventions for depression and anxiety in Asian Population: A systematic review Journal of Psychiatrists Association of Nepal June 28, 2018
- Acceptability, engagement, and preliminary efficacy of a college human physiology course with integrated mindfulness practice to support student wellbeing Frontiers in Psychology August 14, 2024
- Pendekatan Mindfulness dalam Menggambarkan Hubungan Rasa Syukur dan Kualitas Hidup pada Orang yang Hidup dengan Lupus PSIKODIMENSIA June 30, 2022
- Combined Liuzijue and mindful breathing promote greater sustained relaxation than mindful breathing alone in university students with anxiety symptoms Frontiers in Psychology July 13, 2026
and 12 more in the library
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