The Effect of Massage Therapy on Anxiety Levels Experienced by Traditional-Aged Undergraduate Business Students

Abstract

Background: Anxiety is a prevalent concern among college students, impairing academic performance and increasing attrition risk for universities. Effective interventions are needed to reduce overall and test anxiety during high-stakes assessments.

Purpose: This study explored the effect of massage therapy (MT) in reducing overall and test anxiety in traditional-aged undergraduate business students com-pared to a comparison group engaged in a relaxation activity (adult coloring).

Setting: A private liberal arts university in the southeastern United States.

Participants: Undergraduate business students (aged 18–23 years) enrolled in accounting, business administration, finance, economics, or marketing.

Research Design: Quantitative, quasi-experimental, repeated-measures design with both within-subjects (pre–post) and between-subjects (MT vs. adult coloring) evaluations.

Intervention: The experimental group received a 30-min MT session administered by a licensed massage therapist 2 h prior to a final exam. The comparison group engaged in a 30-min adult coloring activity.

Main Outcome Measure: Anxiety levels were assessed pre- and post-intervention with the Adult Manifest Anxiety Scale—College Version (AMAS-C).

Results: MT significantly reduced overall anxiety (mean (M) = 58.79 to 51.68, t(37) = 4.103, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.666) and test anxiety (M = 59.29 to 55.24, t(37) = 2.623, p = 0.013, Cohen’s d = 0.426). Analyses of variance confirmed significant main effects of MT on overall anxiety (η² = 0.314, p < 0.001) and test anxiety (η² = 0.155, p = 0.015), unaffected by sex at birth or academic classification. Between-group differences with the comparison activity were not statistically significant (p = 0.114), though MT showed a small-to-moderate effect size.

Conclusion: A 30-min MT intervention effectively reduced overall and test anxiety among traditional-aged undergraduate business students when administered within a 2-h window prior to a final exam. MT demonstrates promise as a non-pharmacological strategy to support students during high-stakes academic assessments.