The Effectiveness of Emotional Schema Therapy on Academic Self-efficacy, Test Anxiety, Distress Tolerance, and Academic Resilience in Students with Test Anxiety

Abstract

Background: Test anxiety significantly impairs academic performance and well-being. Emotional schema therapy (EST), which targets maladaptive emotional beliefs, presents a potential intervention. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of EST on test anxiety and associated psychological factors — academic self-efficacy, distress tolerance, and academic resilience — in female high school students. Methods: This study employed an experimental, pre-test/post-test control group design over a 10-week period. The participants were female high school students in Ahvaz, Iran, during the 2023 academic year, with moderate test anxiety, selected via cluster random sampling. Forty eligible students were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n = 20), which received ten weekly 90-minute EST sessions, or the control group (n = 20), which received no intervention during the study period. Measures included the Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI), Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS), Academic Self-efficacy Questionnaire (ASEQ), and Academic Resilience Questionnaire. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used for data analysis. Results: Compared to the control group, the findings indicated that EST significantly increased distress tolerance, academic self-efficacy, and academic resilience, while significantly reducing test anxiety in the experimental group at post-test (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Emotional schema therapy effectively reduced test anxiety and improved related psychological factors — distress tolerance, self-efficacy, and resilience — in the participating female high school students. The EST shows promise as an intervention for test anxiety in this population, meriting further investigation into its long-term effects and applicability in diverse settings.