Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Students’ Perceived Stress and Test Anxiety

Abstract

Background: Test anxiety has an adverse effect on academic performance and can degrade the psychological well-being of students. Among others, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) has been proven to alleviate test anxiety in young students. Objectives: The present research aimed to design, implement, and assess an education program based on ACT on perceived levels of stress and test anxiety among students of the University of Rehabilitation Sciences and Social Health in 2021. Methods: The study employed a semi-experimental design, including pre-test and post-test evaluations. The study population included all undergraduate students of the University of Rehabilitation Sciences and Social Health in the second semester of 2022 - 2023. Of this population, 103 individuals were selected for the study through the accessible sampling technique, adhering to the specified criteria for inclusion and exclusion. Also, 8 ACT sessions were held for the participants voluntarily. The required data were collected by asking the subjects to complete Sarason’s test Anxiety Questionnaire and Cohen’s Perceived Stress Questionnaire in two phases: (1) Pre-test, and (2) post-test. The data underwent analysis with the paired t-test using SPSS V28 statistical software. Results: The findings of this study reveal that the sample consisted predominantly of female students (87.4%), with most being single (90.3%) and in their first semester (81.6%). The average age of participants was 21.73 ± 3.14 years, and the mean GPA was 17.13 ± 0.90. A paired t-test was utilized to assess the impact of a commitment-based training program on perceived stress and test anxiety. The results showed a significant reduction in average test anxiety (from 19.82 to 16.95) and perceived stress (from 27.79 to 25.18) post-intervention, indicating the program's effectiveness. Effect sizes of 0.62 for test anxiety and 0.57 for perceived stress suggest a moderate impact of the intervention on these outcomes. Conclusions: Considering the efficacy of the current intervention on test anxiety and perceived stress among students, it can be implemented for Iranian students.