Auricular Stimulation vs. Expressive Writing for Exam Anxiety

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Title of the study: Auricular acupuncture (AA) vs. expressive writing for pre-exam anxiety - a randomised crossover study Study period: 04 / 2014 - 07 / 2014 Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. T. Usichenko Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine University Medicine of Greifswald Aim of the study: To investigate the anxiolytic effect of AA vs. expressive writing and vs. no intervention in students, passing the oral exams in anatomy at the University of Greifswald Design: Prospective randomised crossover trial Interventions: 1. AA using indwelling fixed needles, retained 24 h in situ 2. Expressive writing Number of volunteers: N = 40 Healthy medical students at the University of Greifswald Participants of the anatomy exams in spring/summer 2014 Without previous anxiolytic, sedative and analgesic medication No pregnancy or lactating Informed consent Outcome measures: Anxiety level Heart rate, blood pressure Salivary α-amylase

Official Title
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Auricular Acupuncture (AA) vs. Expressive Writing in Treatment of Pre-exam Anxiety - Randomised Crossover Study in Medical Students

Conditions
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Anxiety

Intervention / Treatment
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* Device: Auricular acupuncture
* Behavioral: Expressive writing


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Medical students at the University of Greifswald Going to take part in oral exams of human anatomy Participants without previous anxiolytic medication Ability to express the thoughts and emotions (expressive writing) Written informed consent Exclusion Criteria: Recidivist alcoholics Local auricular skin infection Pregnant or lactating women Participants with prosthetic or damaged cardiac valves, intracardiac and intravascular shunts, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and mitral valve prolaps (risk of bacterial endocarditis according to guidelines of AHA) Participants who are unable to understand the consent form History of psychiatric disease

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 19 Years
Maximum Age: 35 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Crossover Assignment
Masking: Triple


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Active Comparator: Auricular stimulation<br>Auricular acupuncture with indwelling fixed auricular acupuncture needles | Device: Auricular acupuncture<br>* Auricular acupuncture with indwelling fixed auricular acupuncture needles<br>|
| Experimental: Expressive writing<br>Expressive writing - sharing the emotional expectations in front of forthcoming exam | Behavioral: Expressive writing<br>* Expressive writing is a standard psychological method in treatment of exam anxiety<br>|
| No Intervention: No intervention<br>No intervention, just observation and monitoring of outcome measures | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Intensity of anxiety | State-trait-Anxiety Inventory | 2 days | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| salivary alpha-amylase | enzymatic activity of salivary alpha-amylase | 1 day | 
| heart rate | heart rate | 1 day | 
| blood pressure | blood pressure | 1 day |