Mandala Drawing for Reducing Test Anxiety in College Student

Test anxiety is a set of cognitive, physiological, and behavioral responses that are accompanied by concerns about the possible negative consequences of failure on the test or similar evaluative situations. High level of test anxiety can lead to negative impacts such as poor school performance, poor exam performance, psychological distress, cognitive impairment, and poor health. One effective therapy to overcome anxiety is art therapy. Art therapy is a form of therapy that involves art as a way to express feelings and communicate problems. Art therapy has many forms, one of which is mandala. Mandala is a form of art therapy that has been known to have therapeutic effects. The aim of this study is to investigate the reduction of test anxiety in college student by drawing mandala. The participants of this study were nine female college students, who are currently undergoing undergraduate study. This study used a quasi-experimental approach with one group pretest – posttest design. In this study participants were asked to take a mandala drawing session for six weeks, with one meeting session per week. Spielberger’s Test Anxiety Inventory were used as the instrument for measuring the test anxiety level. The instrument was given before and after the intervention to determine the differences before and after treatment. The results show seven out of nine participants experienced significant reduction in test anxiety scores, one participant experienced an increase in scores, and one participant did not experience a change in score.