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To evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based structured versus unstructured coloring on test anxiety, 52 participants (53.8% female; Mage = 10.92 years, SD =.82) were randomly assigned to either a structured mandala (n = 26) or free coloring condition (n = 26), and completed a standardized anxiety measure to assess anxiety before and after coloring, immediately before a spelling test. Results revealed an overall decrease in anxiety for both groups. However, a significant gender by group interaction demonstrated that while both genders experienced anxiety reduction in the mandala condition, males reported a greater anxiety reduction in the free coloring condition while females only benefited from the mandala condition. Possible explanations for these gender effects are explored and future directions discussed.
The present study reports the pilot evaluation of the feasibility and acceptability of StressOFF Strategies, a single-session (45 min) adolescent-targeted, school-based psychoeducational program, which introduces cognitive behavioral techniques and mindfulness-based techniques. Five hundred and sixty-five Grade 9 students (57% female; M age = 14.97, SD = 0.36) completed self-report measures of stress, current stress management use, satisfaction with program, understanding of and future willingness to use strategies taught. Pre-intervention, 35.04% of participants reported a moderate–high overall stress level. Furthermore, all participants initially reported limited strategy use with distraction as the most common strategy (68.89%). Post-intervention, 88.67% of participants rated the program as good to excellent with over 87% of participants reporting understanding strategies quite well to very well, and 76–87% of participants indicating high levels of willingness to use each strategy. Females reported high levels of stress, greater satisfaction with the program, and better understanding and willingness to use strategies. Implications for schools are discussed.