Effectiveness of Online Reality Therapy on Exam Anxiety and Academic Procrastination of Male High School Students: A Quasi-experimental Study

Background: Procrastination is considered as an obstacle to academic progress because it reduces the quality and quantity of academic success by increasing stress and negative consequences in the academic life of students. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of reality therapy on exam anxiety and academic procrastination among male high school students.Methods: The current research is a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test and follow-up design. The statistical population of the current research is all high school male students in Sari city (Academic year ۲۰۲۱-۲۰۲۲), and the participants were selected using simple random allocation sampling method. ۲ high schools were randomly selected from each district. The participants of this research included ۴۰ male students who were allocated to two groups of experiment and control (۲۰ in each group), using the simple random sampling. The experimental group received online reality therapy during ۸ one-and-a-half-hour sessions, and the control group were placed on the waiting list. After the end of the treatment period, both groups were subjected to a post-test and a follow-up test. Friedman’s test anxiety questionnaires and Solomon’s academic procrastination were used to collect data. The data were analyzed through analysis of variance test with repeated measures using SPSS-۲۵ software.Results: The results showed that mean±SD reality therapy significantly reduced the mean exam anxiety (۴۶.۹۶±۷.۶۵ vs. ۲۱.۵۴±۴.۵۰; P=۰.۰۰۱) and procrastination (۵۱.۳۰±۶.۱۶ vs. ۹۳.۸۲±۹.۹۳; P=۰.۰۰۱) was effective for the students’ academic performance, and the changes made were stable until the follow-up period.Conclusion: Based on the findings of the research, it can be concluded that reality therapy is effective in reducing exam anxiety and academic procrastination of students, so it can be used as an effective method the to reduce exam anxiety and academic procrastination of high school students.