Effect of Emotional Freedom Technique on Nursing Students Exam Anxiety

NCT07119138 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 25000
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 82
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Aim: This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) on the state exam anxiety levels of nursing students. Background: Exam anxiety is a common problem among nursing students. EFT has emerged as a complementary method to reduce exam anxiety. However, experimental studies on this subject are limited in the literature. Design: Randomized controlled trial design. Methods: This study was carried out with second-year students enrolled in the Surgical Nursing course at the Faculty of Nursing of a state university. Participants were assigned to intervention and control groups using simple random sampling. One hour before the exam, all students were present in the exam hall. While the intervention group received EFT, the control group was given free time. Data were collected using the State Test Anxiety Scale (STAS) and the Subjective Units of Distress Scale (SUD). Descriptive statistics, normality tests (Shapiro-Wilk/Kolmogorov-Smirnov), independent and paired samples t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Wilcoxon test, and two-way mixed ANOVA were used for data analysis. The significance level was set at p\<0.05. Outcomes: There were no significant differences between the groups in the pre-test STAS total and subscale scores or SUD scores. However, post-test results revealed statistically significant differences between the intervention and control groups in all measurements (p\<0.05), with effect sizes ranging from medium to large. The time and group-time interaction effects for STAS total and subscale scores and SUD scores were also significant (p\<0.05), and the effect size of the change over time was determined to be large (η² \> 0.14). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that EFT is effective in reducing exam anxiety among nursing students. EFT should be considered a complementary intervention in managing exam anxiety. It is recommended that EFT be integrated into the support services provided to students prior to examinations.

Conditions

Pre-Exam Anxiety; Emotional Freedom Technique

Keywords

Pre-Exam Anxiety; Nursing student; Mind-Body Therapies; Surgical nursing; Randomised controlled trial

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Exam Anxiety Scale scores

  Change in Exam Anxiety Scale (STAS) scores before and after the intervention

  The intervention started one hour before the surgical nursing final exam. The STAS pre-test was administered one hour before the exam, followed by the intervention (EFT). After the intervention, the STAS post-test was conducted.

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Subjective Units of Distress (SUD) scores

  The intervention started one hour before the surgical nursing final exam. The SUD pre-test was administered one hour before the exam, followed by the intervention (EFT). After the intervention, the SUD post-test was conducted

Study Arms (2)

Experimental

EXPERIMENTAL

EFT arm

Behavioral: Emotional Freedom Technique

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Control arm

Interventions

Emotional Freedom Technique BEHAVIORAL

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is used as an effective method for managing various adverse conditions, including the reduction of exam anxiety. Although there are several studies in the literature on this topic, research conducted specifically with nursing students remains limited. In particular, the Surgical Nursing course is a fundamental subject offered in the second year of nursing education, encompassing both theoretical and clinical components. Academic success in this course is an important indicator of the quality of nursing education. Therefore, as a surgical nursing instructor, it is believed that reducing exam anxiety can positively influence student performance. This study also aims to improve student success through anxiety management. To date, no studies addressing this issue with nursing students have been found in the literature.

Experimental

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 35 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Volunteers to participate in the study • Qualified to take the final exam of the Surgical Diseases Nursing course

You may not qualify if:

• Refusing to participate in the study
• Receiving psychiatric treatment/receiving psychological support
• Failing the Surgical Diseases Nursing course application
• Removal criteria
• A student who did not take the course exam due to illness, delay, or similar reasons
• Someone who wishes to withdraw from the study during the implementation phase after having agreed to participate.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Necmettin Erbakan University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Necmettin Erbakan University, Faculty of Theology, Laboratory

Konya, Turkey (Türkiye)

RECRUITING

Related Publications (37)

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Central Study Contacts

Mahsum Korkutan, Research Assistant

CONTACT

+905462023210; mahsum.korkutan@erbakan.edu.tr

Saide FAYDALI, Associate professor

CONTACT

+905056652357; sfaydali@erbakan.edu.tr

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: TRIPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: To prevent assignment bias in the study, blocks will be created by a statistician. The letters representing the experimental and control groups (A and B) will be determined by drawing lots. Because the researcher must have students administer the EFT one-on-one, blinding will not be possible during the application. After determining the students who meet the inclusion criteria and provide informed consent for assignment to groups (assignment blinding), researcher MK, who will be administering the EFT, will be notified by researcher SF. Students will not be informed of their group placement. After data collection, the groups will be coded as A and B in the dataset created by the researcher, and the codes will not be disclosed to the statistician conducting the analyses before reporting (blind technique).
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Research assistant

Model Details: It was planned to assign students who meet the selection criteria for the study and volunteer to participate in the study to the EFT group and the control group using the block randomization method. Blocks of 8 will be created according to the number of volunteer participants.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 11, 2025
• First Posted: August 12, 2025
• Study Start: June 30, 2025
• Primary Completion: July 30, 2025
• Study Completion: August 30, 2025
• Last Updated: August 12, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, CSR, ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: 2 years from the article publication
• Access Criteria: In case of a request for research purposes, the researcher will be directed to the drive link provided by SF.

Locations

TU (1)