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Journal of Clinical and
Basic Psychosomatics Theoretical models for test anxiety

Besides these advancements, recent research has kidneys, subcortex, and adrenal gland significantly reduced
emphasized the importance of cross-cultural validation test anxiety in medical students and improved their sleep
and measurement invariance. Studies by von der Embse quality when applied 1 day before an examination. 36
et al. and Ober et al. have emphasized the need to ensure Further, scholarly attention has given attention to
that test anxiety scales are applicable across different hypnosis and self-hypnosis techniques for managing
demographic groups and include considerations of gender, test anxiety. Pachaiappan et al. conducted a randomized
age, and cultural backgrounds. 2,32 controlled trial that confirmed the efficacy of hypnosis

Moreover, Schneider compared measures of test anxiety in lowering test anxiety, boosting self-confidence, and
in different disciplines, evaluating the two test anxiety enhancing examination performance. Conversely,
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factors of worry and emotionality across four school Dundas et al.’s exploration of perceived control during the
subjects (mathematics, physics, German, and English) learning of self-hypnosis identified potential challenges
to deliver insights into the comparability of test anxiety related to the sense of diminished agency, which could
assessments across curricular disciplines. 33 undermine the intervention’s effectiveness. These studies
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These developments reflect a broader trend toward underscore the potential of hypnosis and self-hypnosis in
sophisticated and context-sensitive tools for assessing test managing test anxiety; however, they also indicate the need
anxiety. These instruments should be refined further in for customizing interventions to individual differences.
future studies to ensure they remain relevant and effective McLeod and Boyes’ meta-analysis highlighted that
across diverse educational environments. 29 social-emotional learning (SEL) strategies effectively
reduced test anxiety in college students, leading to
6. Interventions significant improvements in their emotional regulation
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Test anxiety is associated with physiological and and coping strategies. Similarly, Rosenberg and Hamiel
psychological symptoms such as stress, fear of failure, and investigated the use of a biofeedback respiratory practice
concentration difficulties, which can extend graduation device and reported significant reductions in test anxiety,
times and cause students to drop out. Various types of depression, and anxiety symptoms, along with enhanced
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interventions have proven effective in reducing test anxiety. psychological well-being. Apostolidis and Tsiatsos
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), combined with study explored the impact of anxiety awareness in science exams
skills training, has consistently been identified as one of the on the academic performance of college students. They
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most effective psychological interventions for mitigating used biofeedback to monitor the anxiety levels of students
test anxiety. Traditional CBT entails weekly 1-h sessions. in real time and found that biofeedback information
2
However, the practicality of extended interventions is often significantly reduced their test anxiety and increased
limited in academic settings, where students face heavy their self-efficacy. Collectively, these studies indicate that
coursework and scheduling challenges. Consequently, SEL strategies and biofeedback devices show promise as
recent test anxiety intervention designs have tended tools to help students better manage anxiety in high-stress
to focus on reducing the duration and simplifying the academic environments.
implementation of therapeutic approaches. In terms of pharmacological interventions, studies have

Imagery rescripting (IR) is a relatively novel intervention shown that the placebo effect can help manage test anxiety.
that has demonstrated its effectiveness in reducing anxiety Buergler et al. examined the efficacy of imagined pills and
in social evaluative situations when it is integrated with open-label placebos (OLPs) and found that both treatments
CBT over five sessions. Notably, Prinz et al. examined the significantly reduced test anxiety in healthy participants
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physiological activation and co-activation associated with compared with a control group. A systematic review of
a six-session IR therapy for test anxiety. Their findings OLPs revealed subjective benefits across various conditions
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suggest that physiological synchrony between patients and including well-being, pain, stress, arousal, wound healing,
therapists during IR sessions is significantly correlated with sadness, itching, test anxiety, and physiological recovery;
positive therapeutic outcomes. Thus, their study highlights however, it did not note any significant impact on objective
the importance of empathic engagement by therapists. outcomes. The review also highlighted that suggestive
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language influenced the efficacy of such interventions.
Timely interventions administered shortly before
examinations could also be effective. Usichenko et Graham et al. expanded the awareness of the dynamic
al. demonstrated that auricular stimulation targeting nature of test anxiety by studying anxiety fluctuations
specific ear points such as the lungs, Shenmen (name of during an examination. Their study emphasized the
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an acupuncture point in traditional Chinese medicine), non-static nature of test anxiety: it varies throughout

Volume 3 Issue 2 (2025) 6 doi: 10.36922/jcbp.3946