Test Anxiety Interventions for Adolescents: A Systematic Review of Iranian Research

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

1 MA student in Educational Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Birjand, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran

4 MA in Educational Psychology, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran

Abstract

Background: Test anxiety is one of the types of anxiety in educational environments and exam conditions, which has caused many psychological challenges for students, including teenagers, as well as their families. Considering the growing trend of this problem, so far, extensive interventions have been carried out with the aim of reducing test anxiety among the adolescent population; the investigation of these interventions seems important and necessary.
Aim: Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of reviewing the interventions made in the field of reducing test anxiety among adolescents.
Method: The research method was a systematic review. For this purpose, the keywords "effectiveness", "impact", "intervention", "high school", "secondary school", "students", "adolescents", "adolescents" and "test anxiety" in SID databases, individually and in combination. Magiran, Google Scholar, Ensani and Civilica were searched between April 2019 and February 2024. After applying the entry and exit criteria and according to the PRISMA model, among the 213 primary studies, 33 articles were included in the present systematic review.
Results: The results showed different types of therapeutic and educational interventions such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, therapy based on acceptance and commitment, therapy based on mindfulness, interventions based on metacognitive strategies, emotional regulation, self-regulation, documentary retraining and other interventions such as brain-based training, successful intelligence. Reality therapy and dialectical behavior therapy have been the most important interventions to reduce the anxiety of teenagers. The most used interventions were cognitive behavioral therapy, therapy based on mindfulness and therapy based on acceptance and commitment.
Conclusions: Therefore, it is suggested to pay attention to these therapeutic and educational intervention approaches in the interventions that are carried out by counselors and psychologists with the aim of reducing the test anxiety of teenagers.

Keywords

Main Subjects


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