The Effect of Psychological Interventions on Statistics Anxiety, Statistics Self-Efficacy, and Attitudes Toward Statistics in University Students: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Psychological interventions offer a unique approach to enhancing the educational experience for university students. Unlike traditional teaching methods, these interventions directly address cognitive, emotional, and behavioural factors without requiring changes to course content, delivery methods, or involvement from the teaching team. This systematic review evaluated psychological interventions that were designed to reduce statistics anxiety, boost statistics self-efficacy, and/or foster positive attitudes toward statistics among university students enrolled in statistics courses. All included studies followed a longitudinal design with at least pre- and post-intervention assessments, comprising single group studies, randomised controlled trials, and non-randomised control studies. The protocol of this systematic review was registered with PROSPERO. Search terms were entered into five databases. The screening, assessment of risk of bias, and data extraction processes were conducted by two independent reviewers. Meta-analysis was not conducted due to the heterogeneity across the included studies. Therefore, a narrative synthesis was used to describe the results of 11 studies (1786 participants), encompassing studies targeting statistics anxiety, attitudes, self-efficacy, or a combination of these outcomes. Findings revealed that although no intervention was definitively effective in reducing statistics anxiety, some showed promise, especially those combining exposure with coping strategies. Moreover, the review identified interventions that effectively improved self-efficacy and attitudes, discussed some important methodological considerations, and provided suggestions for future psychological interventions. Finally, further empirical research is necessary to address existing limitations and fully understand the effectiveness of these interventions, particularly regarding statistics anxiety.