Effects of biofeedback-aided relaxation on the psychological stress symptoms of college students.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of Benson's relaxation technique (BRT) with Benson's technique augmented with GSR biofeedback (i.e., biofeedback-aided relaxation, BAR) on the psychological stress symptoms of well college students. Seventy-eight normotensive college students were randomly assigned to one of three groups: the BRT group, the BAR group, and a control group. The BRT and BAR students were asked to practice their respective relaxation technique daily for an eight-week period. Pre- and postintervention, all subjects were administered a state-anxiety inventory and a profile-of-mood state (POMS) test. Posttest analysis indicated that the BAR group had significantly lower state anxiety and POMS than the BRT and control groups (p less than 0.05). It was evident from the results that BAR did augment BRT in lowering psychological stress symptoms. Part of the effectiveness was due to the expectation of relief on the part of the BAR group. It was recommended that nurses study the effects of BAR in clinical settings.