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Test anxiety affects more than 33% of secondary students in U.S. schools (Methia, 2004). Test anxiety is associated with lower test scores, lower academic achievement (Chapell et al., 2005), higher school truancy, earlier school dropout (Yousefi, 2012), low self-esteem, and depression (Beidel & Turner, 1988; Ogundokun, 2011). The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of brief guided mindfulness and mandala coloring on the reduction of test anxiety in Hispanic/Latino middle school students. A total of 43 participants were randomized into a brief guided mindfulness meditation, mandala coloring, or control condition. After listening to an induction script, participants completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC-S), State form, to measure pre-intervention anxiety. Participants engaged in their group’s condition and then completed the STAIC-S to measure post-intervention anxiety. Pre-test and post-test STAIC-S anxiety scores were compared between and within groups. An analysis of the data revealed that the omnibus test for the interaction of Testing (pre-test, post-test) X Condition (mindfulness, mandala, control) reached a marginal level of statistical significance, F(2,40)= 3.16, p = .053. The examination of simple effects for each level of Condition found a significant improvement from pre-test to post-test scores in the dependent variable for mindfulness, F(1,12) = 6.91, p = .02; a non-significant (marginal) effect for mandala, F(1,14) = 3.59, p = .079; and a non-significant effect for the control, F(1,12) = 0.32, p = .58. Brief guided mindfulness meditation is an effective intervention to reduce state test-anxiety in Hispanic/Latino middle school students. There was not enough evidence at this time to suggest that mandala coloring is an effective intervention to reduce test anxiety.
Advisor: | McNeilly, Catherine |
Commitee: | Barrie, Rabiatu, Nichols, Lauren |
School: | Adler School of Professional Psychology |
Department: | Clinical Psychology |
School Location: | United States -- Illinois |
Source: | DAI-B 80/03(E), Dissertation Abstracts International |
Source Type: | DISSERTATION |
Subjects: | Behavioral psychology, Middle School education, Educational psychology, Clinical psychology, Hispanic American studies |
Keywords: | cognitive skills work, competency tests, emotional needs, poor academic achievement |
Publication Number: | 10934041 |
ISBN: | 978-0-438-55037-7 |