The effect of progressive muscle relaxation method on test anxiety in nursing students

Background: Concerning the prevalence of test anxiety among nursing students and presence of stress in nursing education years, this study was conducted to determine the effect of progressive muscle relaxation method on test anxiety among nursing students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2013. Materials and Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study conducted in three stages on 49 male and female nursing students divided into two groups (study and control). In the pre-test stage, demographic data and Sarason anxiety questionnaires were fi lled by 94 students (of terms 3 and 4). Then, in the intervention stage, the students having test anxiety were assigned to two groups (study and control), and the progressive muscle relaxation method was performed in the experiment group in four sessions. Then, the students did this method two times a day until fi nal exams, immediately following which they fi lled the self-reported checklists. On the fi rst day of the fi nal exams, test anxiety questionnaire was fi lled by the two groups again. The collected data were analyzed by the statistical tests, i.e. χ2, paired t-test, independent sample t-test, Mann–Whitney and Wilcoxon tests, using SPSS 18. Results: Independent t-test showed a signifi cant difference in the mean scores of test anxiety after intervention between the two groups of study and control (P = 0.00), but this difference was not signifi cant before intervention (P = 0.76). Also, in the study group, there was a signifi cant difference in the mean scores of test anxiety before and after intervention (P = 0.00), but this difference was not signifi cant in the control group (P = 0.09). Mann–Whitney test showed no signifi cant difference in categorization of test anxiety scores before intervention in the study and control groups (P = 0.60), but the difference was signifi cant after intervention (P = 0.00). Wilcoxon test showed a signifi cant difference in categorization of test anxiety scores in the study group before and after intervention (P = 0.00), but the difference was not signifi cant in the control group (P = 0.083). Conclusions: Generally, the results showed that performing progressive muscle relaxation method was effective in reducing test anxiety among nursing students. It is suggested to conduct educational programs concerning this method in the faculties of nursing to decrease the test anxiety of nursing students.