Evaluating the efficacy of cognitive restructuring and exposure therapies on secondary school chemistry students’ test anxiety: A randomized trial

Abstract

Background:

This study explored how cognitive restructuring (CR) and cognitive exposure therapy (CET) impacted test anxiety in chemistry students from Nsukka, Enugu State. Three research questions and hypotheses guided the investigation.

Method:

A quasi-experimental design with a pretest, posttest, and 2 experimental groups was employed. The study involved 154 SSII chemistry students from 4 purposefully chosen schools within Nsukka. The Chemistry Test Anxiety Scale, Cognitive Restructuring Chemistry Treatment Package, and Cognitive Exposure Chemistry Treatment Package served as the data collection instruments. The Chemistry Text Anxiety Scale’s internal consistency, measured by Cronbach alpha, was found to be 0.86, indicating good reliability. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) addressed the research questions, while Analysis of Covariance tested the hypotheses at a 0.05 significance level.

Results:

Results showed that the students who were exposed to CR therapy had pretest mean test anxiety score of M̄ = 78.31, standard deviation (SD) = 8.63 and posttest mean test anxiety of mean [M] = 27.06, SD = 5.71, while those exposed to cognitive exposure had a pretest mean test anxiety score of M = 77.39, SD = 8.68 and a posttest mean test anxiety score of M = 32.62, SD = 11.04. The reduction in text anxiety scores of −51.25 and −44.77 for the students exposed to CR and cognitive exposure respectively. The students exposed to CR therapy had lesser posttest mean test anxiety score than those exposed to CET. The results revealed that students receiving CR therapy displayed lower posttest anxiety scores compared to those receiving CET. Additionally, no significant interaction between treatment and gender on test anxiety was found.

Conclusion:

It was concluded that CR therapy is better than CET in the management of test anxiety among chemistry students. Based on these findings, it was recommended that cognitive behavioral therapists should be invited periodically to educate students on the negative effects of irrational thoughts on academic performance.

1. Introduction

The knowledge of chemistry is fundamental to our existence. It impacts numerous aspects of our daily lives, including food production, medicine, energy generation, and environmental protection. As Emendu^[1] defines it, chemistry is the science that explores the properties, building blocks, transformations, and interactions of matter. This knowledge helps us understand why elements bond or break apart, and how atoms and compounds behave under various conditions.

The importance of chemistry aligns with the objectives of the subject at the secondary school level of education. According to Eya^[2] the objectives of chemistry curriculum amongst other things includes to show the link between chemistry with industry, everyday life benefits and hazards as well as to serve as an introduction to secondary school graduates that intend to proceed to higher education. As important as the subject is and despite the efforts of both the federal and state governments to encourage chemistry education, students still find the subject difficult. This is as a result of their notion that the concepts are abstract and are disconnected from reality.^[3] The pressure to excel academically and meet the expectations in the subject chemistry has led to not just academic stress but also to test anxiety.^[4] Considering the negative impacts of test anxiety and its prevalence among chemistry secondary school students, it becomes imperative to conduct this study that investigated the effects of 2 treatment therapies on reducing anxiety among chemistry students.

Despite being commonplace, anxiety significantly impacts daily lives, affecting most people in various ways. Anxiety manifests as a complex emotional and behavioral disorder.^[5] Anxiety is complex because it involves not just mental feelings of worry and unease, but also physical changes caused by the nervous system. Anxiety could manifest in students in terms of moods, emotions, feeling and inner struggles with different words. There are different types of anxiety. According to Felman,^[6] types of anxiety include generalized anxiety, agoraphobia, social anxiety, test anxiety, specific anxiety, post-traumatic anxiety, and selective mutism, among others. However, this study focused on test anxiety. The choice of test anxiety is as a result of its direct linkage with students’ academic outcomes.

Test anxiety is performance anxiety related to test and examinations. Carr^[7] defined test anxiety as the incapacitating self-doubt and disastrous reflection about imminent failure; as well as the interference and disorder students frequently experience prior to test or during test or examinations.^[7] Stressed that test anxiety manifest in the form of autonomic arousal such as sweating, tremulousness, diarrhea among others that are activated by examination or test. In another definition, Doherty and Wenderoth^[8] viewed test anxiety as a psychological condition in which people experience extreme distress and anxiety in testing situations. In this study, test anxiety refers to a deep feeling of agitation and distress experienced by a chemistry student before, during, and after a test or examination.

Test anxiety can have several negative impacts on students. Test anxiety can impair cognitive functioning, making it difficult for individuals to concentrate, think clearly, and recall information during the test.^[9] Students with high levels of test anxiety tend to underperform as compared to their counterparts with less anxiety and this if not properly reduced could result to higher frequencies of deviant behaviors among secondary school students.^[10] According to Miller and Sawatzky,^[11] it can also cause significant psychological distress, including feelings of fear, worry, panic, and self-doubt. These negative emotions can lead to a decrease in self-confidence and self-esteem. Anxiety can also lead to various forms of violence which might result to students dropping out of school.^[12]

Despite these negative impacts of test anxiety, previous studies have observed its prevalence among students. Sena et al^[13] revealed that test anxiety rate is higher than 33% among the school students. Similarly, other researchers revealed that nearly 40% of students have experienced text anxieties.^[14,15] Among chemistry students, Nwafor et al^[16] posited that more than 50% of chemistry students in Nigeria are confronted with anxiety prior to and during test circumstances that frequently affects their achievements. This presents a concern and calls for remediation.

Considering the negative impacts of test anxiety, there is a need to address these concerns among chemistry students in order to have students learn and achieve the objectives of chemistry subject. Traditional, content-heavy teaching approaches that emphasize strict adherence to the three-year Nigerian senior secondary school chemistry syllabus and scheme of work, have been linked to students lacking a deeper understanding of the subject.^[2] This highlights the importance of metacognitive learning strategies which emphasize moving beyond rote memorization and towards ability to reflect upon, understand, and control one’s learning.^[17] By this, students are able to grasp concepts and make connections to existing knowledge thus fostering meaningful learning. However, some students suffer some psychological problems such as test anxiety which could hinder them from clear comprehension of the subject matter. To address psychological problems like test anxiety,^[18] suggested that complex and interconnected crisis can be managed by integrating ethics and spirituality as a holistic approach to guide towards sustainable and compassionate solutions. Kaczkurkin and Foa^[19] also recommended the use of cognitive-behavioral Therapy. This underscores the need to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) on students’ test anxiety among chemistry students.

CBT is an important psychological intervention therapy. CBT is defined as the mixture of cognitive and behavioral therapies which has pragmatic support for treating mood stress, and anxiety disorder.^[20] Cognitive behavioral therapy is premised on the fact that emotion is hard to modify directly, hence, it focuses on emotions by transforming thoughts and behaviors that are contributing to the afflicting emotions. Transforming chemistry students’ thoughts and behaviors that contribute to academic test anxiety may be efficacious in addressing these psychological problems. There are different kinds of Cognitive behavioral therapies that can be employed in teaching and learning. which include but not limited to rational emotive behavior therapy, cognitive restructuring (CR), cognitive exposure (stress inoculation training) (CE), problem-solving therapy, and Third-wave cognitive-behavioral therapy.^[21,22]

This study aims to compare the effectiveness of 2 therapeutic techniques: CR and cognitive exposure therapy (CET). The researcher chose CR due to its established success in addressing both cognitive and behavioral issues.^[23]

CR is a therapeutic approach that helps students challenge and replace their negative or irrational beliefs about learning chemistry. As Ernest-Ehibudu and Wayii^[24] defined it as “the process of utilizing self-statements, arguments, and disputations to make the students see irrationality in their learning behaviors and to be able to devise positive alternative ways to such irrationality in case the urge arises in the future.” This technique uses self-talk, arguments, and questioning to expose the flaws in students’ thinking and develop positive alternatives. It tackles cognitive distortions—illogical thought patterns like “all-or-nothing thinking”—often associated with anxiety.^[25,26] The process involves 4 steps: identifying unhelpful automatic thoughts, recognizing the distortions within them, using Socratic dialogue to challenge them, and developing rational counter-arguments.^[27] This study determined how effectively CR can reduce anxiety in chemistry students.

Another cognitive behavioral therapy this study is concerned with is CET. Cognitive exposure is another therapeutic technique that promotes new learning. It involves gradually approaching and experiencing feared stimuli, both internal (thoughts, feelings, and physical responses) and external (physical places and objects), in a safe environment where the anticipated negative consequences don’t occur.^[28] This approach is one of the most commonly used methods in CBT for treating various behavioral disorders, particularly those related to anxiety.

CET encompasses various approaches to address anxiety.^[19] One type, imaginal exposure, involves patients vividly imagining feared situations and their consequences, learning to tolerate the resulting anxiety without avoidance. In vivo exposure gradually exposes individuals to previously avoided objects, places, people, or situations in a safe environment, allowing them to experience their safety firsthand. Finally, interoceptive exposure, primarily used for panic disorder, involves intentionally inducing physical sensations associated with panic attacks in a controlled setting. Despite their differences, these exposure techniques share a common goal: facilitating new learning to dismantle the structure of anxiety and ultimately reduce its hold on students. Through these exposure techniques, the negative impacts of chemistry students’ anxiety (test anxiety) would be reduced. Furthermore, there could be gender disparities in how students experience test anxiety and how they respond to treatment with cognitive behavioral therapy.

Gender is a crucial concept in modern education research, particularly due to the ongoing debate about which gender (male or female) performs better academically.^[29] Several studies have shown conflicting reports concerning the influence of gender on students’ test anxiety. For instance, Ganaprakasam and Tinagaran^[30] revealed that both male and female students who received cognitive behavioral group therapy showed a decrease in test anxiety scores. On the contrary, Attri and Neelam^[31] reported that there exists a significant difference in academic anxiety of male and female secondary school students with females found to be more academically anxious.

Hence, as a result of these inconsistencies is a need to investigate gender in this study. Again, the study investigated whether gender interacts with cognitive behavioral therapies such as CR and exposure therapies in reducing the effect of test anxiety.

2. Hypotheses

The following hypotheses were formulated to guide the study and will be tested at 0.05 level of significance.

Ho₁: There is no significant difference in the mean anxiety ratings of chemistry students exposed to CR and those exposed cognitive exposure therapies.

Ho₂: There is no significant difference in the mean anxiety ratings of male and female chemistry students.

Ho₃: There is no significant interaction effect of treatment and gender on chemistry students’ test anxiety.

3. Method

3.1. Design of the study

This study employed a randomized trial group experimental research design. As defined by Nworgu,^[32] this design is used when random assignment of participants to treatment groups is feasible. The design was considered appropriate for the study because the 2 cognitive behavioral therapies (restructuring and exposure) represented 2 groups of chemistry students with test anxiety. Hence, a traditional control group was not needed as the 2 cognitive behavioral therapies acted as control and treatment groups. This randomized trial group adopted the CONSORT 2010 reporting guidelines. Over time, the CONSORT was updated to offer more thorough justifications and elaborations of its tenets. The most recent version was created in 2010 and may be viewed at www.consort-statement.org.

3.2. Participants

The study, conducted within Nsukka Education Zone, Nigeria, involved students from senior secondary 2 (SS2) across 62 coeducational public schools in 3 local government areas (Nsukka, Igbo-Etiti, and Uzo-Uwani). The target population consisted of 1607 SS2 chemistry students (836 males and 831 females) for the academic year 2022/2023. The sampling started with the school population from where 4 schools were sampled for the study. Thus, a sample size of 154 students (64 males and 90 females) exhibiting high anxiety scores in chemistry was purposively sampled from the 4 sampled schools. The 154 participants were randomly assigned to the 2 treatment groups as shown in Figure 1. The inclusion criteria employed are having signs of test anxiety, being interested in participating in the study and being at senior secondary 2 level.

Figure 1.

Flow diagram of the participants.

3.3. Ethical approval statement

The approval for the conduct of this research was granted by the research ethical committee of the Faculty of Education. The participants were served with informed consent forms to fill and sign before the commencement of the treatment. In other words, the participants were made to understand that their participation was on a voluntary basis not compulsory.

3.4. Measures

Chemistry Text Anxiety Scale (CTAS). CTAS was used for data collection. CTAS comprised 25 items adapted from the original instruments developed by Oguchienti and Opara.^[33] CTAS used in this study was a modified version with 2 sections. Section A collected background information from participants, including gender and an identification number. Section B focused on assessing the students’ test anxiety in chemistry. The CTAS employed a four-point Likert scale for responses. Students indicated their level of agreement with statements using options like “Strongly Agree” (4 points), “Agree” (3 points), “Disagree” (2 points), and “Strongly Disagree” (1 point). To ensure the CTAS’s accuracy, 3 experts in the relevant field validated it. Additionally, a pilot test was conducted, and the students’ responses were analyzed for reliability using Cronbach alpha. This analysis yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.86, indicating good internal consistency for the CTAS.

3.5. Procedure

Prior to the conduct of the experiment, the researcher visited all 4 sampled schools to seek the consent of the school administrators. The treatment lasted for 8 weeks. Pretest and posttest were administered to the respondents with the help of the recruited therapists. A total of 154 copies of the CTAS were administered and collected on the spot. Both groups were subjected to treatment for 7 weeks. Cognitive Restructuring Chemistry Treatment Package (CRCTP) was used for students in group 1 while Cognitive Exposure Chemistry Treatment Package was used for students in group 2. After the treatment, the same questions used for pretest were reshuffled and administered to both groups as a posttest. The researchers used the CTAS to gather baseline data on the students’ test anxiety levels. This data confirmed that a significant portion of the students were indeed experiencing academic anxiety. A score of 50 or above on the CTAS indicated students with high anxiety, and these students formed the sample size for the study (their names were included in the instrument for identification purposes). It is important to note that all students, including those without high anxiety, remained in their original classes throughout the experiment. This was done to avoid disrupting the classroom environment and potentially harming the self-esteem of students with academic stress. Separating them from their peers could have led to stigmatization.

Following the baseline data collection, the 8-week CBT sessions commenced formally. Two intact classes received CR therapy, while the remaining 2 received CET. These sessions ran for 45 minutes each and were held once a week on Fridays after regular school activities. To optimize efficiency, some CBT sessions were grouped. For example, sessions 1 and 2, 3 and 6, and 7 and 8 were delivered consecutively. This resulted in longer sessions for the first and last groupings (90 minutes for sessions 1–2 and 7–8, and 180 minutes for sessions 3–6) compared to the single weekly sessions. Upon completion of the 8-week intervention, the CTAS was administered again to measure posttest anxiety levels. Two months later, a follow-up assessment was conducted to assess the intervention’s long-term effects on student anxiety.

3.6. Therapist

A therapist is a qualified professional who provides therapy or counseling to individuals, couples, families, or groups. They help people with a variety of mental health concerns, emotional issues, and life challenges. Therapists undergo extensive training and education, so there was no need to retrain them. Therapists use various evidence-based therapeutic approaches to help people address their concerns A therapist plays a crucial role in both CET and CR. Here’s how they contribute to each:

In CET, the therapist conducted an initial assessment to understand the student’s anxiety triggers, related thoughts and beliefs, and current coping mechanisms. They created a hierarchy of feared situations related to academic anxieties, starting with less anxiety-provoking scenarios and gradually progressing to more challenging ones. The therapist guided the student through gradual exposure to feared situations in a safe and controlled environment. He taught and guided student in practicing relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation, to manage anxiety during exposure.

In CR, the therapist identified negative thoughts: The therapist helps the students identify automatic negative thoughts, beliefs, and assumptions related to their academic performance and self-worth. Challenging distorted thoughts: The therapist works with the students to question the evidence supporting these thoughts, identify cognitive distortions present, and explore alternative, more realistic interpretations. Overall, the therapist acts as a facilitator and guide, empowering the student to:

This study involved 2 therapists who were already experts in both CR and CET. They were not given additional training by the researchers but were provided with detailed treatment manuals outlining the specific intervention program and its scope within the research context. These manuals guided the therapists in identifying and addressing irrational or dysfunctional thoughts related to academic stress among the participating students.

3.7. CBT intervention procedure

This study’s CR intervention program was adapted from the American Psychological Association’s well-established “5 Steps of Cognitive Restructuring.”^[34] This technique equips individuals with the ability to critically analyze their thought patterns when experiencing emotional distress or anxiety. It is applicable to various situations that trigger negative emotions. Through careful evaluation, individuals can identify inaccurate negative thoughts and replace them with more realistic and less distressing ones. The therapy sessions mirrored these 5 steps:

1. The situation: Identifying the specific situation triggering the negative thoughts.

2. The thought: Recognizing the exact thought causing distress.

3. The feeling: Understanding the emotions associated with the thought.

4. Evaluating the thought: Critically analyzing the thought’s accuracy and validity.

5. Making a decision: Choosing to replace the inaccurate thought with a more realistic and helpful one.

The program materials provided detailed instructions for each of these 5 crucial steps in CR.

On the other hand, cognitive exposure therapy intervention manual was adapted from cognitive exposure therapy techniques by Qunn.^[35] Cognitive exposure therapy techniques can be helpful for a wide range of mental health conditions including social anxiety disorders. The main goal of cognitive exposure therapy is to help a person overcome their fears and decrease avoidance. Cognitive exposure treatment encompasses students challenging previously avoided phenomena as well as unwanted thoughts and feelings while resisting the predisposition to avoid them. Therefore, exposure-based interventions arrange for structured approach behavior, and thus allow extinction processes to work. The therapy sessions in this technique were broken down into 3 modules—prolonged exposure, invivo exposure, and imaginal exposure each of which had other sessions. as follows:

Week 1 to 2: The first and second weeks of the experiment featured recruitment of the therapists and administration of pretests. For this purpose, the researcher employed 2 cognitive behavior therapists. The therapists were provided with the treatment manuals with respect to the scope of the research to conduct a practical exercise to ascertain the extent of usage of the treatment package and research instruments. After which, the researcher handed over the research materials to the therapists, defined the experimental groups, and assigned the therapists to the various groups. Two schools each from the 4 sampled schools were then randomly assigned to the experimental groups. Group 1 was for chemistry students exposed to the CRCTP and group 2 for chemistry students exposed to the Cognitive Exposure Chemistry Treatment Package.

The second week was used for the administration of pretest to both groups. The instrument CTAS, was administered to the students. The CTAS was used in identifying chemistry students with test anxiety. Scoring was done by the researcher. A score of 50 on the 25 items of CTAS represents the average. A student who scored above average was considered to be having chemistry test anxiety, while a student who scores below average was considered not to be having test anxiety. Students’ scores on CTAS were recorded as pretest scores. This was done in order to identify the students having high levels of academic test anxiety in chemistry.

Week 3 to 6: After week 1 and 2, 4 weeks of treatment package administration followed. The administration of the treatment was done by the recruited therapists. A 45-minute session of the treatment was administered once in a week throughout the designated 4 weeks of treatment administration. The treatment sessions were held after the school period after written permission and approval to conduct the study had been obtained from the principals of the sampled schools. For students in Group 1, their therapist exposed them to the CRCTP with content areas such as identification of negative thoughts, evaluation of the thoughts, and making a decision as contained in the intervention manual Similarly, for students in Group 2, their therapist exposed them to the Cognitive Exposure Chemistry Learning Package. The contents of the instruction using Cognitive Exposure Chemistry Learning Package were treated with cognitive exposure therapy procedures such as prolonged exposure, in vivo exposure, and Imaginal exposure as contained in the intervention program.

Weeks 7 to 8: After the 4 weeks of treatment administration, CTAS was administered on the 7th and 8th week of the experiment, which served as posttest scores for the students. The aim was to determine the effect of the treatments on the students. However, it should be noted that after the identification of chemistry students with academic test anxiety, the students with and without academic test anxiety all received the same treatment in the same classroom environment. Meanwhile, the researcher’s emphasis was on chemistry students with academic test anxiety in the 2 groups. This is so because, at the end of the experiment, only the pretest and posttest scores of chemistry students with academic test anxiety were used for data analysis.

3.8. Method of data analysis

Based on the data collected, mean and standard deviation were used to answer research questions while hypotheses were tested using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) at alpha level of 0.05. ANCOVA was used because it has the potential to control covariates such as pretest which was used in this study. ANCOVA can also match participants on observed covariates. All these helped to reduce the impact of confounding effects.

4. Results

Research Question 1: What are the mean test anxiety scores of chemistry students exposed to CR therapy and those exposed to cognitive exposure therapy in Nsukka Education Zone?

Table 1 shows that the students who were exposed to CR therapy had pretest mean test anxiety score of (M = 78.31, standard deviation [SD] = 8.63) and posttest mean test anxiety of (M = 27.06, SD = 5.71), while those exposed to CE had a pretest mean test anxiety score of (M = 77.39, SD = 8.68) and a posttest mean test anxiety score of (M = 32.62, SD = 11.04). The reductions in test anxiety of −51.25 and −44.77 for the students exposed to CR and CE respectively, indicate that the students exposed to CR therapy had lesser posttest mean test anxiety score than those exposed to cognitive exposure therapy. Moreover, the posttest standard deviations of 5.71 and 11.04 for the students exposed to CR and those exposed to CE respectively, indicate that the individual posttest test anxiety scores of the students exposed to cognitive exposure therapy differed more from their mean test anxiety score than those of the students exposed to CR therapy.

Table 1.

Mean analysis of the test anxiety scores of students exposed to cognitive restructuring therapy and those exposed cognitive exposure therapy.

Treatment	N	Pretest		posttest		Mean loss
		x̄	SD	x̄	SD
Cognitive restructuring	64	78.31	8.63	27.06	5.71	‐51.25
Cognitive exposure	90	77.39	8.68	32.62	11.04	‐44.77

Ho1: There is no significant difference in the mean test anxiety scores of chemistry students exposed to CR therapy and those exposed to cognitive exposure therapy.

Table 2 revealed that there is a significant difference in the mean test anxiety scores of chemistry students exposed to CR therapy and those exposed to cognitive exposure therapy in favor of the students exposed to CR therapy, F (1, 149) = 13.184, P = .000. Hence, the null hypothesis is rejected (P < .05). The effect size of.181 implies that 18.1% reduction in the test anxiety of students in chemistry is as a result of their exposure to CR therapy. This indicates 18.1% represents the proportion of variance in test anxiety scores explained by the therapy.

Table 2.

Analysis of covariance of the effect of treatment on students’ academic stress in chemistry.

Source	Type III sum of squares	df	Mean square	F	Sig.	Partial eta squared
Corrected model	1245.065a	4	311.266	3.615	.008	.088
Intercept	1553.368	1	1553.368	18.043	.000	.108
Preanxiety	.697	1	.697	.008	.928	.000
Treatment	1135.080	1	1135.080	13.184	.000	.181
Gender	82.111	1	82.111	.954	.330	.006
Treatment * gender	.913	1	.913	.011	.918	.000
Error	12,827.974	149	86.094
Total	155,568.000	154
Corrected total	14,073.039	153

Research Question 2: What is the influence of gender on secondary school students’ mean test anxiety scores in chemistry?

Table 3 shows that male students had pretest mean test anxiety score of (M = 77.15, SD = 8.80) and posttest mean test anxiety of (M = 31.18, SD = 9.30), while the female students had a pretest mean test anxiety score of (M = 78.18, SD = 8.56) and a posttest mean test anxiety score of (M = 29.74, SD = 9.78). The reductions in test anxiety of −45.97 and −48.44 for male and female students respectively, indicate that the female students had lesser posttest mean test anxiety score than the male students. However, the posttest standard deviations of 9.30 and 9.78 for male and female students respectively, indicate that the individual posttest test anxiety scores of female students differed more from their mean test anxiety score than those of the male students.

Table 3.

Mean analysis of the test anxiety scores of male and female students.

Gender	N	Pretest		Posttest		Mean loss
		x̄	SD	x̄	SD
Male	61	77.15	8.80	31.18	9.30	‐45.97
Female	93	78.18	8.56	29.74	9.78	‐48.44

Ho2: There is no significant difference in the mean test anxiety scores of male and female chemistry students.

Table 2 revealed that there is no significant difference in the mean test anxiety scores of male and female chemistry students, F (1, 149) = .954, P = .330. This implies that the null hypothesis is not rejected since the associated probability value of.330 is greater than the.05 level of significance.

5. Discussions

5.1. Effect of CR and exposure therapies on chemistry students’ test anxiety

This study revealed that students exposed to CR therapy had lesser posttest mean test anxiety score than those exposed to cognitive exposure therapy. Thus, there is a significant difference in the mean test anxiety scores of chemistry students exposed to CR therapy and those exposed to cognitive eZzavour of the students exposed to CR therapy. This finding indicates that CR is an effective therapy that is effective in reducing chemistry students’ anxiety and is more efficacious in treating students’ anxiety in chemistry at senior secondary schools. This does not imply that cognitive exposure therapy was not effective in reducing chemistry students’ anxiety using its instructional therapies butt the instructional therapy of CR was more powerful in reducing students’ test anxiety in learning chemistry activities. The reason for this might be because CR helps in identifying and challenging the negative thoughts and beliefs about oneself, the test and the outcome. This helps individuals refrain from their thinking patterns, reducing anxiety and increasing confidence. compared to self-confrontation to the traumatic events of anxiety as in cognitive exposure therapy. Also, the CR therapeutic technique directly targets cognitive distortions such as overgeneralization, catastrophizing and self-criticism which are common in test anxiety.

The findings of this study aligned with the findings of Anyamene and Ogugua,^[36] which revealed that cognitive restriction was effective in reducing math students’ anxiety. Similarly, this is in agreement with the findings of Sheu,^[37] which revealed that CR techniques are effective in reducing test anxiety among newly admitted undergraduate students. This study also confirmed the findings of Onyemauche,^[38] which revealed that there was a significant reduction in students’ maladaptive behavior when exposed to CR.

5.2. Influence of gender on chemistry students’ test anxiety

This study revealed that female students had slightly lesser posttest mean test anxiety score than male students. However, further analysis revealed that there is no significant difference in the mean test anxiety scores of male and female chemistry students. During therapeutic program implementation, female students dedicated more time than male students to following the routine of CR processes. This could have contributed to their lesser anxiety scores at the posttest compared to their counterparts. However, the difference between male and female students was not significant. This entails that these 2 therapeutic programs were able to close a significant gap between female and male chemistry students’ test anxiety.

The findings of this study agree with the findings of Anyamene and Ogugua,^[36] which revealed that CR therapy was more effective on female students’ mathematics anxiety than their male counterparts. This study also supported the findings of Froján-Parga et al,^[39] which indicated that female participants benefited more from CR techniques than male participants.

6. Limitations of the study

The findings of this study may be limited by some limiting factors such as non-consideration of the ethnic, and religious inclination as well as the locality of the participants. This may limit the generalizability of the findings of the study. Different ethnic and religious groups may have unique beliefs and values that influence their perceptions of test anxiety and the treatment approaches. Some cultures may view anxiety as a personal weakness rather than a treatable condition. Religious beliefs may also lead individuals to rely on prayers or spiritual practices to manage anxiety, potentially reducing their willingness to engage in CR and cognitive exposure therapies. Moreover, the lack of usage of a control group in this study may limit the observed outcomes of the interventions. All these might limit the generalization of the findings of this study. Thus, it is suggested that future researchers can consider such factors in replicating this study.

7. Conclusion

This study utilized 2 psychological therapies to treat chemistry students’ anxiety problems associated with learning chemistry at the senior secondary school level. The 2 cognitive therapeutic modes used were restructuring and exposure. These 2 cognitive instructional modes were found effective in reducing students’ anxiety among students that offer chemistry subject at senior secondary schools. Also, these 2 modes of cognitive therapy were found to be gender-friendly in treating stress and anxiety associated with learning chemistry at senior secondary schools. Therefore, this study concludes that CR and exposure therapies are effective in treating anxiety associated with learning chemistry, though CR therapy is more effective.

8. Recommendations

Based on the findings of the study highlighted above, below are the recommendations.

1. This study recommends that CR therapy be used to lessen students’ test anxiety, irrespective of their gender.

2. School counselors should continually intimate students of the implications of their perception, thoughts and reactions towards academic activities as they lead to academic stress and test anxiety.

Author contributions

Conceptualization: Ngozi M. Eya, Juliet I. Anumudu, Bernardine N. Nweze, Priscillia O. Dave-Ugwu, Joy J. Egbo, Eunice O. Chukwunworgu, Cliff I. Okebanama, Cynthia O. Omeje, Joshua E. Aikoye, Desmon Ngwainmbi, Ngom N. Ibrahima, Christian Sunday Ugwuanyi.

Data curation: Christian Sunday Ugwuanyi.

Formal analysis: Christian Sunday Ugwuanyi.

Funding acquisition: Ngozi M. Eya, Juliet I. Anumudu, Bernardine N. Nweze, Priscillia O. Dave-Ugwu, Joy J. Egbo, Eunice O. Chukwunworgu, Cliff I. Okebanama, Cynthia O. Omeje, Joshua E. Aikoye, Desmon Ngwainmbi, Ngom N. Ibrahima, Christian Sunday Ugwuanyi.

Investigation: Ngozi M. Eya, Juliet I. Anumudu, Bernardine N. Nweze, Priscillia O. Dave-Ugwu, Joy J. Egbo, Eunice O. Chukwunworgu, Cliff I. Okebanama, Cynthia O. Omeje, Joshua E. Aikoye, Desmon Ngwainmbi, Ngom N. Ibrahima, Christian Sunday Ugwuanyi.

Methodology: Ngozi M. Eya, Ngom N. Ibrahima, Christian Sunday Ugwuanyi.

Project administration: Ngozi M. Eya, Juliet I. Anumudu, Bernardine N. Nweze, Priscillia O. Dave-Ugwu, Joy J. Egbo, Eunice O. Chukwunworgu, Cliff I. Okebanama, Cynthia O. Omeje, Joshua E. Aikoye, Desmon Ngwainmbi, Ngom N. Ibrahima, Christian Sunday Ugwuanyi.

Resources: Ngozi M. Eya, Juliet I. Anumudu, Priscillia O. Dave-Ugwu, Joy J. Egbo, Eunice O. Chukwunworgu, Cliff I. Okebanama, Cynthia O. Omeje, Joshua E. Aikoye, Desmon Ngwainmbi, Christian Sunday Ugwuanyi.

Software: Christian Sunday Ugwuanyi.

Supervision: Ngozi M. Eya, Ngom N. Ibrahima, Christian Sunday Ugwuanyi.

Validation: Christian Sunday Ugwuanyi.

Visualization: Ngozi M. Eya, Christian Sunday Ugwuanyi.

Writing – original draft: Ngozi M. Eya, Juliet I. Anumudu, Cynthia O. Omeje, Christian Sunday Ugwuanyi.

Writing – review & editing: Ngozi M. Eya, Juliet I. Anumudu, Christian Sunday Ugwuanyi.