Stress management skill for nursing students.

Assessed the effectiveness of a 10-session, 5-week, group-administered stress management program for nursing students. The stress management group included sessions on progressive relaxation, deep muscle relaxation, autogenic training, visual imagery and modified systematic desensitization. Ten female nursing students participated in the stress management group. A second group of nursing students (7 female and 1 male) served as a control group. State and trait anxiety measures were taken before the group began and immediately prior to both mid-term and final examinations. The stress management group effectively reduced trait anxiety (p less than .05), while the control group's trait anxiety levels remained relatively unchanged. The experimental group showed a reduction in state (test-taking) anxiety from mid-semester to final examinations, while the control groups showed a slight increase from mid semester to final examination.