Accessible biofeedback : innovative campus-wide strategies for stress management and test anxiety
STS Instructor Authored by Jeffrey Tarrant
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Study at a glance
- Area
- Anxiety & Stress
- Authors
- Tarrant J
- Journal
- University of Missouri, Interdisciplinary Innovations Fund final report
- Year
- 2012
- Participants
- about 300 students
- Population
- Adults
- Protocol
- heart rate variability biofeedback
- Sessions
- 8-week HRV biofeedback class (one component)
Key findings
- About 300 students took part in biofeedback training in one year
- An 8-week HRV biofeedback class was linked to better coping self-efficacy and less anxiety and stress than a learning-strategies comparison group
- Voluntary drop-in groups had poor attendance; credit courses and individual sessions worked best
- Program report, not a peer-reviewed study
A final report on a university-funded project to make biofeedback widely available to students for stress and test anxiety. Over a year roughly 300 students received training through classes and individual sessions, student coaches were trained, a biofeedback lab was set up at the student health centre, and instructional videos were made. Linked research reported that students in an 8-week heart rate variability biofeedback class gained coping confidence and reported less anxiety and stress than a comparison class.