EFFECTS OF COGNITIVE RESTRUCTURING THERAPY AND TEST-TAKING SKILLS TRAINING IN THE MANAGEMENT OF EXAMINATION ANXIETY AMONG UNDERGRADUATES IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA

Abstract

Examination is an integral part of school work for any undergraduate. This however could pose a threat to students’ academic success where they harbour negative emotion on test-taking. It is widely known that examination anxiety could make examination experience torturous for the students with their self-esteem and motivation threatened. Literature has focused on factors precipitating examination anxiety with little emphasis on interventions. This study, therefore, determined the effects of Cognitive Restructuring Therapy (CRT) and Test-Taking Skills Training (TTST) in the management of examination anxiety among undergraduates in Southwestern Nigeria. The moderating effects of gender and field of study were also examined. Sarason’s Cognitive interference theory provided the framework for the study while the pretest-posttest control group quasi- experimental design with a 3x2x2 factorial matrix was adopted. Three federal universities (University of Ibadan, ObafemiAwolowo University and Federal University, Oye-Ekiti) were randomly selected. One hundred and twenty-six undergraduates were randomly selected from the three universities. The percentage of female participants was 40.5%. The fields of study taken into consideration were sciences 38.1% and humanities 61.9%. Participants were randomly assigned to CRT (48), TTST (40) and Control (38).The training lasted eight weeks. The instruments used were: Anxiety test inventory (α=0.74) as screening tool and Revised test anxiety scale (α =0.82). Five sessions of Focus Group Discussion (FGD) were also conducted. Quantitative data were subjected to Analysis of covariance, Scheffe Post-hoc test at 0.05 level of significance while the qualitative data were content analysed. There was significant main effect of treatments in the management of examination anxiety among the participants (F(2,113) = 380.67,partial n2 = .87). The mean of participants exposed to CRT (32.23) was significantly different from those in the TTST (26.53) and the control group (54.26) in the management of examination anxiety. There was no significant main effect of gender and field of study in the management of examination anxiety. The two-way and three-way interaction effects were not significant in the management of examination anxiety. FGDs revealed that inadequate preparation, procrastination, poor test-taking skills caused examination anxiety. Poor motivation and lack of confidence, fear of failure, previous poor test performance and examiner characteristics may aggravate examination anxiety. Test-taking skills training was more effective in the management of examination anxiety than Cognitive restructuring therapy among the participants. Counselling and educational psychologists should adopt these strategies to help students overcome examination anxiety.

Keywords: Cognitive restructuring therapy, Test-taking skills training, Examination anxiety, Undergraduates in Southwestern Nigeria Word Count: 434