The effect of aromatherapy to children aged 9-12 on exam anxiety, attention deficit and academic success

Aim: This study was carried out to examine the effects of aromatherapy performed to the students aged 9-12 on test anxiety level, attention deficit, and academic performance. Method: As an experimentally-designed study, it was conducted in a secondary school affiliated to Eyüpsultan District Directorate of National Education in İstanbul between February 5 and June 14, 2024. The study sample consisted of a total of 75 students forming as two experimental groups (lemon, n=26), (lavender, n=23), which were selected by lot based on the greatest spatial distance range from each other and a control group which was located at approximately equal distance from both experimental groups (placebo, n=26) by taking distance measurements between thé classrooms so as to ensure that all 5th graders were not affected by aromatherapy. Aromatherapy and placebo interventions were applied via diffusers throughout one academic term. By using the instruments including a Demographic Information Form, the Westside Test Anxiety Scale, and the Burdon Attention Test, data were collected at three time points: before the intervention, prior to the first written exam, and at the end of the term. The data were analyzed using SPSS 27 software through descriptive statistics, arithmetic means, Pearson's Chi-Square test, One-Way ANOVA, Repeated Measures ANOVA, Mixed Design ANOVA, Bonferroni post hoc tests, Partial Eta Squared, and Pearson Correlation analysis. Results were evaluated for statistical significance at the 95% confidence interval with a threshold of p < 0.05. Findings: The groups were found to be similar in terms of descriptive characteristics, with no statistically significant differences among them (p> 0.05). In between-group comparisons, no significant differences were observed before the intervention and prior to the first written exam; however, a statistically significant difference was found only in the end-of-term mean scores of the Westside Test Anxiety Scale (WTAS) (t = 4.012; p = 0.022) due to the score variations between the control group and the lemon group showing significantly lower WTAS mean scores compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Considering the Burdon Attention Test total scores, no significant differences were observed between the groups; however, within-group comparisons revealed a gradual increase in attention levels across all groups, and these increases were statistically significant (F= 213.008, p= 0.000; F= 58.862, p= 0.000; F= 54.155, p= 0.000). Nevertheless, there was no superiority in the attention-enhancing effect between aromatherapies (p>0.05). Conclusion: After the aromatherapy intervention, the findings show that lemon aroma had a positive effect on test anxiety, and academic performance increased across all groups. In conclusion, the study suggests that the use of aromatherapy in school settings should be encouraged and expanded.