Effect of Systematic Desensitization on Anxiety and Achievement of Nigerian Secondary School Students in Mathematics.

This study investigates the impact of systematic desensitization (SD) on mathematics anxiety and achievement among Nigerian secondary school students. Employing a quasi-experimental design with a pretest and post-test nonequivalent control group design, we selected 120 students (58 boys, 62 girls) from a pool of 3390 senior class one students using a multi-stage sampling procedure. Assessment tools included the Mathematics Achievement Test and Mathematics Anxiety Scale. The six-week intervention demonstrated significant results with moderate effect sizes, revealing that SD significantly reduced mathematics anxiety (F[1,115] = 86.66, p <.001) and enhanced academic achievement (F[1,115] = 92.458, p <.001). Gender showed no substantial influence on mathematics anxiety (F[1,115] =.365, p =.547) or achievement under SD treatment (F[1,115] =.006, p =.937). This study underscores the effectiveness of SD in reducing mathematics anxiety and improving mathematics performance among Nigerian students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Counseling Outcome Research & Evaluation is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)