Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
Abstract
The present research aims to study the effect of teaching self- encouragement on decreasing exam anxiety and perfectionism of the 1st- grade female high school students. The research method was semi- empirical and control group pre-test and post-test was the research design. Using cluster random sampling method, 20 1st-grade female students of Tehran district 9 in the educational year 2011-2012 were selected and randomly put into experiment and control groups (each consisting of 10 subjects). Ahvaz Test of Anxiety Inventory (1996) and Ahvaz Perfectionism Scale (1999) were used to measure the extent of exam anxiety and perfectionism respectively in pre-test and post-test. The experiment group received 10 ninety-minute sessions of teaching self- encouragement (Schumacher, 1980). After the teaching sessions were finished, the post-test was carried out in both experiment and control groups. The covariance analysis showed that the rate of exam anxiety and perfectionism in the experiment group was significantly decreased (p<0.01). It can be concluded that teaching self-encouragement resulted in the decrease of exam anxiety and perfectionism in the 1st-grade female high school students. Therefore, it is recommended to use such teaching program in order to decrease the level of the students’ exam anxiety and perfectionism so that their mental health could be maintained
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