Effectiveness of Stress Management Training on Academic Optimism and Hope of University Entrance Exam Applicants | ||
| Health Education and Health Promotion | ||
| Article 16, Volume 11, Issue 2, 2023, Pages 279-284 PDF (844.25 K) | ||
| Document Type: Original Research | ||
| DOI: 10.58209/hehp.11.2.279 | ||
| Authors | ||
| M.R. Yazdanpanah; F.S. Marashian* | ||
| Department of Psychology, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Aims: As one of the primary causes of confusion and decline in mental health, stress can be the source of considerable negative effects on student performance. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of stress management training in academic optimism and hope of university entrance exam applicants. Participants & Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study based on a pretest-posttest design with a follow-up. The statistical population consisted of all university entrance exam applicants in Ahvaz, Iran, in 2022. Thirty applicants, who met the inclusion criteria, were selected as the sample using convenience sampling and randomly assigned to the treatment and control groups (15 participants per group). The participants in the treatment group attended eleven 120-minute sessions of cognitive-behavioral stress management (CBSM) training program, whereas those in the control group received no intervention. The Academic Optimism Scale and Adult Hope Scale were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (analysis of covariance). Findings: The results showed that the stress management training program improved the academic optimism (F=117.24, P=0.001) and hope (F=66.33, P=0.001) of the participants in the treatment group. Conclusions: It can be concluded that stress management training in stressful situations, such as the university entrance exam can boost candidates' academic optimism and hope. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Stress disorders; Academic success; Hope; Students | ||
| Full Text | ||
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Introduction Having a university degree has turned into a social value and is one of the important factors of social mobility in today’s Iranian society. Consequently, entering a university is regarded as an important life event because it can affect the future occupation, income level, social relationships, and even the marital life of people [1]. The national entrance exam, which is a perfect example of a decisive exam with great effects on all aspects of the lives of both applicants and their families, is one of the ways of entering a university in Iran [2]. It is hence necessary to understand the factors affecting the performance of the applicants in this period. The applicants’ belief in their good performance is one of the factors influencing their educational performance as well as their success in the university entrance exam [3]. Such an attitude toward academic results is referred to as academic optimism, which influences the academic performance of students regardless of their socioeconomic status. Academic optimism refers to a combination of collective efficacy and trust in parents and students [4]. In other words, this construct is among the most important and prominent personality constructs that include positive cognitions [5]. Optimism encourages and alleviates people's doubts and worries in difficult situations and motivates them to do their best in order to achieve their goals [6]. Accordingly, high levels of academic optimism help students to achieve their academic goals [7]. Academic hope is another construct that influences academic success among students [8]. Academic hope is a cognitive capacity based on a shared feeling that results from the purposive determination of goals and the path to achieving them [9]. It is defined as the expectation of achieving positive educational results. Hope is closely related to academic success and can prepare students for life and a brighter, more dynamic future [10]. Hopeful people are more optimistic and capable of achieving their goals. As a result, academic hope assists students in achieving their academic goals, implying that more hopeful students outperform less hopeful ones in school and in life [11]. It can be hence stated that academic optimism and academic hope are among the influential factors in the success of university entrance exam applicants [12, 13]. As one of the primary causes of confusion and decline in mental health, stress can be the source of considerable negative effects on student performance [14]. Stress causes many physical and psychological symptoms that vary depending on the individual's situational factors. These symptoms can include poor physical health and also depression [15]. Although a limited and manageable level of stress may be beneficial, prolonged or severe stress can help cause or exacerbate illnesses [16]. This may be especially problematic for university entrance exam applicants, who are at a critical stage in their academic careers and jeopardize their academic success [17, 18]. As a result, stress management for the applicants during this period can effectively reduce their psychological problems and stress and also improve their academic optimism and academic hope. Stress management, which involves a broad spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling high levels of stress, especially chronic stress, in people and improving their daily functioning, is considered one of the keys to living a happy and successful life in modern society [19, 20]. Stress management programs include several cognitive-behavioral techniques aimed at reducing the psychological or physiological symptoms of stress, eliminating or moderating the stressor, or changing the cognitive evaluation of the stressors, which all can be effective in improving people's physical and mental health [21, 22]. Therefore, stress management is especially important among university entrance exam applicants, and investigating the effectiveness of stress management training on academic optimism and academic hope of them can be very helpful in finding ways to reduce their stress. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of stress management training on academic optimism and hope of university entrance exam applicants. Participants and Methods This was a quasi-experimental study based on a pre-test-post-test design with a follow-up and control group. The statistical population consisted of all the university entrance exam applicants who visited the university entrance exam preparation centers in Ahvaz, Iran, in 2022. Thirty applicants, who met the inclusion criteria, were selected as the sample using convenience sampling and randomly assigned to the treatment and control groups. We included 15 entrance exam applicants in each group using G*Power software with an effect size of 1.12, a test power of 0.90, and α=0.05. They took the pre-test and then those in the treatment group attended 11 two-hour sessions of a CBSM training program. The training sessions were presented by the author once a week. Finally, the post-test was performed for both groups, and the follow-up examinations were also conducted two months later. The inclusion criteria were non-affliction with psychological illnesses, being a university entrance exam applicant, and attending no other training intervention. The exclusion criteria were absence in more than two sessions and unwillingness to continue participation in the study. Measurement tools Academic Optimism Scale (AOS): This 28-item scale was developed by Tschannen‐Moran et al. [23]. It measures the academic optimism of students using the academic emphasis, student trust in teachers, and a sense of identity within the school components. The items are scored based on a five-point Likert scale (From 1: very low to 5: very high), and higher scores indicate higher levels of academic optimism. Ghadampour et al. [24] reported a Cronbach's alpha of 0.96 for the AOS. Adult Hope Scale (AHS): This is a self-report measure of hope developed by Snyder et al. [25]. Nine items of this scale are scored based on a five-point Likert scale (From 1: totally wrong to 5: totally right). The minimum and maximum scores obtainable on the AHS are nine and 45, respectively. The higher scores indicate high level of hope. Hasani et al. [26] reported a Cronbach's alpha of 0.82 for the AHS. Procedure The stress management training program presented to the participants in the treatment group consisted of eleven two-hour sessions based on CBSM. At the end of the intervention program, the participants in both groups filled out the Academic Optimism Scale and Adult Hope Scale as the post-test. Two months later, all participants were invited to take follow-up tests in order to investigate the long-term effects of the intervention. The training sessions of stress management training sessions based on a cognitive-behavioral method included the following contents in brief: Session 1: Understanding the concept of stress, learning about the physical effects of stress, practicing progressive muscle relaxation for the first session of 16 muscle groups. Session 2: Recognizing the importance of awareness in stress management, learning about physical response to stressors, practicing progressive muscle relaxation for the second session of eight muscle groups. Session 3: Understanding the relationship between thoughts and feelings and the thought evaluation process, practicing progressive muscle relaxation for four muscle groups. Session 4: Learning about negative thoughts and cognitive distortions, combining diaphragmatic breathing with imagery, practicing passive progressive muscle relaxation, visualizing a specific place. Session 5: Learning about rational and irrational self-talk and how to replace negative and distorted thoughts with rational thoughts. Session 6: Implementing stress management with relaxation technique in real life, learning different coping techniques, practicing self-training with a focus on heart rate, breathing, abdomen, and forehead. Session 7: Learning effective coping methods, practicing self-training along with imagery, practicing sun meditation in combination with self-training. Session 8: Learning about anger and specific anger patterns, learning anger management techniques, and learning and practicing meditation. Session 9: Learning about interpersonal styles, practicing instrumental communication, learning breath counting meditation, practicing sun meditation. Session 10: Learning about the benefits of social support, assessing the community support network, reviewing the entire program, and planning home relaxation exercises. Session 11: Developing a personal stress management program, summarizing the program, asking relevant questions, and completing post-test questionnaires. Statistical analysis Data were statistically analyzed using analysis of covariance by SPSS 25. Findings Table 1 presents the descriptive indices (mean and standard deviation) for academic optimism and academic hope in each group. The mean scores of pre-test, post-test, and follow-up for academic optimism were 93.13±10.7, 103.93±11.91, and 102.67±11.42 in the treatment group and 95.2±9.98, 95.6±10.3, and 96.0±10.81 in the control group. Also, the mean scores of pre-test, post-test, and follow-up for academic hope were 26.73±3.65, 32.2±4.6, and 32.4±4.86 in the treatment group and 25.27±3.28, 25.78±2.97, and 26.53±2.97 in the control group. Table 1) Mean scores of the academic optimism and hope in experimental and control groups  The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to examine the normality of the dependent variables and Levene’s test to check the homogeneity of variances. Because the significance level of these statistics was greater than 0.05 in all dimensions, it can be concluded that these two assumptions were established. In addition, the homogeneity of the slopes of the interaction regression line across the levels of the factors (treatment and control groups) between auxiliary (pre-tests) and dependent (post-tests) variables was not significant. Thus, the assumption of homogeneity of regression slopes was also met. The MANCOVA results for the post-test and follow-up scores are reported in Table 2. Table 2 shows a significant difference between the treatment and control groups in terms of the dependent variables. As a result, the difference between the treatment and control groups was significant in at least one of the dependent variables of the research, i.e., academic optimism and academic hope. The one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed to find these differences. Table 2) MANCOVA Results on the research variables in experimental and control groups  As presented in Table 3, since the post-test and follow-up F-values for academic optimism were 117.24 and 54.94, respectively, it can be concluded that there was a significant difference between the treatment and control groups in academic optimism in both the post-test and follow-up stages. Because the post-test and follow-up F-values for academic hope were 66.39 and 35.18, respectively, it can be stated that there was also a significant difference between the treatment and control groups in this variable in both stages. Table 3) One-way ANCOVA results on research variables in the experimental and control groups  Discussion This study aimed to investigate the role of stress management training in academic optimism and hope of university entrance exam applicants. CBSM training program significantly improved academic optimism and academic hope of the university entrance exam applicants. This finding is consistent with the results of previous studies [27]. CBSM training program combines various types of relaxation, diaphragmatic breathing, passive muscle relaxation, autogenic training of heart rate, breathing, abdomen, and forehead, visualization, and other anxiety reduction techniques with common cognitive-behavioral approaches, such as awareness of the effects of stress on health, cognitive restructuring, challenging automatic thoughts, effective coping strategies, self-assertiveness, and anger management [28]. Such interventions help the applicants to recognize the thoughts that cause anxiety and stress in them and change the false beliefs and logic that cause them anxiety and stress. This intervention included training and practicing body and muscle relaxation, which allows individuals to redirect their thoughts from worrying, stressful, and self-blaming topics to more neutral or even calming topics thereby reducing their stress level [29]. As a result, this intervention can effectively increase academic optimism and academic hope of individuals, which was confirmed by the findings of this study. To explain the positive effect of stress management training on academic optimism of the university entrance exam applicants, it can be stated that stress management training fosters a positive attitude and outlook on life, lays the groundwork for optimism in people, and helps them return to their normal level of performance after experiencing difficult and stressful situations, such as the university entrance exams. Even after failures and difficulties, some of these people reported improved performance in comparison to the past [30]. In other words, they have more resistance to unavoidable injuries and stress, are more likely to find a positive meaning for their stress and problems, adapt flexibly to them, and as a result, have more control over life and upcoming challenges, such as university entrance exam, feel a greater sense of belonging to what they do and are more receptive to new ideas and changes [31]. Stress management training along with social support training and how to attract it can play an effective role in reducing people's stress. This method trains the applicants to view their thoughts and feelings as simple mental events that come and go, rather than as a part of themselves or a reflection of reality [32]. As a result, these preventive reactions assist them in quickly returning to a state of equilibrium in stressful situations, which can affect their academic optimism. Our results also demonstrated that stress management practices significantly improved academic optimism of the participants in the treatment group. Our findings also confirmed the positive effects of stress management training on academic hope of the participants. Adolescents experience stressful situations during their studies, including the university entrance exam that results in major changes in their life. These stressful situations have negative and disappointing effect on their education. In such cases, students must be optimistic about their future so that they can overcome the challenges ahead and consciously change the way they plan, study, and live. Accordingly, stress management training programs can familiarize students with suitable strategies, empower them, help them to cope with their stress in such situations, and improve their academic hope. In addition, this skill reduces negative attitudes toward education by developing new attitudes toward it and toward the university entrance exam and via substituting their initial negative attitudes with positive ones. This reduction in negative attitudes increases academic hope of students. This was confirmed by the findings of this study as the CBSM training program significantly improved academic hope of students in the treatment group compared to the control group. The stress management training program increased academic optimism and academic hope in the university entrance exam applicants and allowed them to maintain academic optimism and hope in stressful situations, such as the university entrance exam. It is suggested that education officials and authorities pay as much attention as possible to the positive effects of stress management training on academic optimism and academic hope of students and organize educational workshops and effective counseling and intervention programs to improve these variables and ensure the academic success of students. Because this study was conducted on the university entrance exam applicants in Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, the findings should be cautiously generalized to students in other regions. In addition, considering the cross-sectional nature of this study, it is difficult to come to a general conclusion about the findings. Conclusion It can be generally concluded that training interventions based on stress management are appropriate methods to control the stress level of students and increase their academic optimism and academic hope. Students who use this method will be able to keep themselves calm in the face of stressful situations, improve their performance, accept and cope with problems, increase their academic optimism and academic hope, and, eventually, achieve educational success. Acknowledgements: Nothing was reported by the authors. Ethical Permission: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Islamic Azad University- Ahvaz Branch (IR.IAU.AHVAZ.REC.1401.191). Conflicts of Interests: There are no conflicts of interests regarding the publication of the current research. Authors’ Contribution: Yazdanpanah MR (First Author), Introduction Writer/Methodologist/Original Researcher/ Statistical Analyst (50%); Marashian FS (Second Author), Introduction Writer/Methodologist/ Assistant Researcher/Discussion Writer (50%) Funding/Support: Nothing was reported by the authors. | ||
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