Effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy with problem solving skills training on reduction of test anxiety symptoms

Abstract

Introduction: The present study was conducted aiming at investigating the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy accompanying with instruction of problem solving skill, in reducing the test anxiety symptoms in female high school students. Method: This study is experimental with pretest-posttest design. The studied population was all the high school female students of first to third grade in Feraydoon Kenar, Mazandaran. Thirty students who have taken TAI diagnostic test (Test Anxiety Inventory) and shown the test anxiety symptoms were chosen randomly based on cluster sampling method and were randomly divided into two equal (15 participants) groups: experimental and control groups . The experimental group was receiving cognitive-behavioral therapy with problem solving skill instruction for 10 sessions while the control group did not receive any intervention. The obtained data were analyzed by covariance method (ANCOVA). Results: Test anxiety symptoms in subjects of experimental group significantly reduced comparing with control group (p