The Effect of Assertiveness Training on Student's Academic Anxiety

Background and Lower levels of academic anxiety can motivate the educational improvement but higher degrees can be a disturbance in concentration, attention, storage, recall and educational failure. Since it affects millions of students worldwide, the present study aimed to determine the effect of assertiveness training on reducing anxiety level in the pre-university students in Gonabad, Iran in 2008. Methods and Materials: In this randomized clinical trail, all pre-university students of Gonabad, Iran were invited to the study; and finally 89 students were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. Data collection instruments included a 3-part questionnaire for recording demographic, academic anxiety and assertiveness (Rathus questionnaire with a validity of 0.83). The intervention for the experimental group was a 5-session course of assertiveness training based on PRECEDE model and one session for parents and teachers to help support the intervention program. Post-test was given top both groups 8 weeks after the last training session. The obtained data were analyzed in SPSS 16 using paired and independent t-test, chi-square and correlation coefficient. The results showed that anxiety levels and assertiveness in the target group were moderate to high (18.14 and 108 respectively); a negative but significant relationship was found between these two factors (r =-0.69, p < 0.001). Also, the anxiety levels of the study decreased significantly, so that their anxiety score lowered from 18.87 to 8.12 (P<0.001). On the one hand, decisiveness was observed to have increased significantly in the same group (from 107 to 159) (P<0.001). However, there was no significant difference between academic anxiety and assertiveness in the control group before and after the intervention. The results showed that training assertiveness was effective in reducing the anxiety in academic settings.