Effects of Biofeedback Training on Stress, Stress Response and Academic Resilience of Nursing Students

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to observe the effects of biofeedback training on the perceived stress, stress response, and academic resilience of nursing students. Methods: The research used a randomly assigned control group pretest-posttest design. The study participants were 34 senior students from the College of Nursing of S University. The study was conducted from March to April 2012. The biofeedback training conducted in this study consisted of eight sessions, each divided into two stages: 15 minutes each for breathing biofeedback training and electromyography (EMG) biofeedback training. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 19.0. Results: We found statistically significant decreases in perceived stress and EMG levels and an increase in academic resilience in the experimental group. Conclusion: The results showed that the biofeedback training for the nursing students was extremely effective in reducing their levels of perceived stress and EMG while increasing academic resilience. To clarify the effects of biofeedback training on the biological stress response, participants with a higher level of stress response should be recruited in future studies.