undergraduate nursing students. Benson's (1975) relaxation response is based on the concepts of transcendental meditation.
One research question will be investigated in the proposed study. This research question will be as follows: "Is an intervention based on the relaxation response effective as a means of reducing levels of test anxiety among undergraduate nursing students?"
The purpose of the proposed research study will be to add to the body of knowledge related to test anxiety generally and test anxiety among undergraduate nursing students specifically to enable nursing educators to both formulate and implement interventions that will be both effective and efficient while reducing levels of test anxiety among students. Such an outcome will be beneficial to students, educators, and the nursing profession.
Literature is reviewed in relation to test anxiety. A test is any measurement that yields quantitative data or a score. Anxiety generally is a feeling of mingled dread and apprehension about the future without a specific cause for such fear, while test anxiety is a more specific phenomenon in which a graded test is the source of fear. The specific nature of this fear is that one will score low on the test at hand. The findings of the literature review are presented in discussions related to (1) test anxiety and gender, (2) test anxiety and academic performance, (3) screening for test anxiety, and (4) interventions to reduce levels of test anxiety.
Sharma and Sud (1990, pp. 183-201) found that female students experience higher levels of test anxiety than do males irrespective of cultural background. The study involved students from four Asian cultures. The conclusion drawn from these findings was that a major causal factor involved in the gender-related differences in test anxiety among students was a greater role expectation conflict among females than among males. Females in some cultures are not expected to ...