Stress Inoculation Bibliotherapy in the Treatment of Test Anxiety

The efficacy of stress-inoculation bibliotherapy for 121 test-anxious college students was examined. A phone-contact condition and a no-contact, stress-inoculation bibliotherapy condition were compared with a phone-contact, wait-list control condition and a no-contact, wait-list control condition. Results indicated that the two experimental conditions were superior to the control conditions in reducing subjective anxiety and that the phone-contact and no-contact conditions were nondifferentially efficacious in treatment adherence or gains. Treatment did not result in significant increases in academic performance. Treatment gains were maintained at a 1-month follow-up. The implications of bibliotherapy for test anxiety as an alternative or adjunct to traditional treatments are discussed.

Duke Scholars

Author Jean Crowell Beckham Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Behavioral Medicine & Neur ...