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Saturday, April 5, 2014: 1:30 PM
Abstract
A quantitative, randomized, pretest, posttest study was conducted to assess the effect of aromatherapy on cognitive test anxiety among nursing students. Sophomore nursing students (n = 39) from a private, 4-year college, were randomized into either the control group (n = 18) or the experimental group (n = 21). Each participant completed the Cognitive Test Anxiety Survey (Cassady; 2001, 2004, 2010) twice; once for baseline data, and a second time after the intervention for comparison. Students in the experimental group completed their second exam in a room with diffused aromatherapy, and the control group remained in a classroom without aromatherapy. Descriptive and inferential statistics were computed for this study. There were no significant differences between the control and study group in relation to baseline cognitive anxiety scores (M = 78.17, M = 73.62) respectively. In the control group, there was a 3 point decrease in cognitive test anxiety scores between pretest and posttest. However, there was a significant decrease in cognitive test anxiety scores between the students who received aromatherapy and those who did not (p = 0.10). Age and gender were not moderating variables in this study. This novel discovery suggested that aromatherapy has a positive effect on cognitive test anxiety among nursing students, and warrants further research in nursing education.
A quantitative, randomized, pretest, posttest study was conducted to assess the effect of aromatherapy on cognitive test anxiety among nursing students. Sophomore nursing students (n = 39) from a private, 4-year college, were randomized into either the control group (n = 18) or the experimental group (n = 21). Each participant completed the Cognitive Test Anxiety Survey (Cassady; 2001, 2004, 2010) twice; once for baseline data, and a second time after the intervention for comparison. Students in the experimental group completed their second exam in a room with diffused aromatherapy, and the control group remained in a classroom without aromatherapy. Descriptive and inferential statistics were computed for this study. There were no significant differences between the control and study group in relation to baseline cognitive anxiety scores (M = 78.17, M = 73.62) respectively. In the control group, there was a 3 point decrease in cognitive test anxiety scores between pretest and posttest. However, there was a significant decrease in cognitive test anxiety scores between the students who received aromatherapy and those who did not (p = 0.10). Age and gender were not moderating variables in this study. This novel discovery suggested that aromatherapy has a positive effect on cognitive test anxiety among nursing students, and warrants further research in nursing education.