A quantitative, randomized, pretest, posttest study was conducted to assess the effect of
aromatherapy on cognitive test anxiety among nursing students. Sophomore nursing
students (n = 39) from a private, 4-year college, were randomized into either the control
group (n = 18) or the experimental group (n = 21). Each participant completed the
Cognitive Test Anxiety Survey (Cassady; 2001, 2004, 2010) twice; once for baseline
data, and a second time after the intervention for comparison. Students in the
experimental group completed their second exam in a room with diffused aromatherapy,
and the control group remained in a classroom without aromatherapy. Descriptive and
inferential statistics were computed for this study. There were no significant differences
between the control and study group in relation to baseline cognitive anxiety scores (M =
78.17, M = 73.62) respectively. In the control group, there was a 3 point decrease in
cognitive test anxiety scores between pretest and posttest. However, there was a
significant decrease in cognitive test anxiety scores between the students who received
aromatherapy and those who did not (p = 0.10). Age and gender were not moderating
variables in this study. This novel discovery suggested that aromatherapy has a positive
effect on cognitive test anxiety among nursing students, and warrants further research in
nursing education