A comparative study of the effectiveness of stress inoculation training in the treatment of academic test anxiety among university students.

Abstract

A commonly used method for treating students with test anxiety in tertiary academic institutions is Skills Workshops. These workshops encompass study, time management and test taking skills. However, Meichenbaum & Butler's (1980) model of test anxiety suggests that test anxiety has four components that need to be taken into consideration when treating test anxiety. These are (1) Internal Dialogue, (2) Behavioural Acts, (3) Behavioural Outcomes and (4) Cognitive Structures. They suggest that Stress Inoculation Training (SIT) is an ideal treatment method for treating test anxiety as it addresses all these components. This study looked at the effectiveness of SIT in comparison to the Skills Workshops as well as no treatment at all. The results showed that both SIT and Skills Workshops were effective in reducing test anxiety levels but SIT was a more superior method.