FIVE FINGER ZEN ON EXAMINATION ANXIETY AMONG STUDENTS

Background: Examination anxiety negatively impacts academic performance and well-being among nursing students. The Five Finger Relaxation Technique (FFRT) is a simple, cost- effective relaxation method. Aim: To assess the effectiveness of FFRT on examination anxiety among first-year B.Sc. Nursing students. Methods: A quasi-experimental one-group pre- and post-test design was used. A total of 100 first-year nursing students at PPG College of Nursing, Coimbatore were selected via purposive sampling. Anxiety was measured using the Modified Examination Anxiety Scale (EAS) before and after a four-week FFRT intervention. Descriptive statistics, paired t-test, and McNemar’s test were applied. Results: Mean anxiety scores decreased significantly from 60.32 (SD=8.68) to 45.04 (SD=9.22) (t=13.60, p=0.001). Pre-test, 74% of students showed average anxiety and 26% low anxiety. Post-test, 63 % showed low anxiety and 37% average. Significant improvements were observed across bodily, cognitive, emotional, and behavioural domains. Conclusion: FFRT effectively reduces examination anxiety among nursing students. Integration of FFRT into student wellness programs is recommended.