The Effect of Lavender Aromatherapy on Test Anxiety in Female Students

Background: Test anxiety is a common problem among Iranian students. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of aromatherapy with lavender on test anxiety. Materials and Methods: This randomized clinical trial was performed from June 2012 to July in Arak 186 female students, who were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. After obtaining written informed consents from the participants, they were asked to complete the Test Anxiety Scale once at baseline and once following the intervention. The students in the intervention group received aromatherapy for seven nights. For this purpose, five to six drops of lavender were poured on a cotton ball and held at a 5 cm distance from the nose for 5 min. On the other hand, no intervention was applied for the control group. For statistical analysis, t-test and Chi-square test were performed. Results: The findings showed no significant difference between the intervention and control groups in terms of mild [30 (49.2%)and 25 (58.1%), respectively], moderate[18 (29.5%) and15 (35.7%), respectively], or severe [2 (3.3%) and 1 (2.4%), respectively] anxiety (P=0.232). However, the number of anxiety-free students was higher in the intervention group (n=11), compared to the controls (n=2)(P=0.03). Conclusion: The obtained findings showed that aromatherapy with lavender could increase the number of anxiety-free students. However, no significant difference was found in the severity of test anxiety between the two groups.