Efficacy of abbreviated progressive muscle relaxation and active relaxation training on improvement of attentiveness mediated by transient feelings and psychobiological indices of anxiety

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EFFICACY OF ABBREVIATED PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION AND ACTIVE RELAXATION TRAINING ON IMPROVEMENT OF ATTENTIVENESS MEDIATED BY TRANSIENT

FEELINGS AND PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL INDICES OF ANXIETY

CHAN SUE MEI

SCHOOL OF HEALTH SCIENCES UNIVERSITY SAINS MALAYSIA

2013

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CERTIFICATE

This istocertifythatthedissertationentitled

EFFICACY OF ABBREVIATED PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION AND ACTIVE RELAXATIONTRAINING ON

IMPROVEMENT OF ATTENTIVENESS MEDIATED BY TRANSIENT FEELINGS AND PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL INDICES

OF ANXIETY

Is the bona fide record of research workdoneby

CHAN SUE MEI

During the period ofOctober 2012 to June 2013-05-26

under mysupervision

Signature of supervisor

Name and addressof supervisor : Dr. Srilekha Saha

Date : 26th June 2013

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EFFICACY OF

ABBREVIATED PROGRESSIVE

MUSCLE RELAXATION ANDACTIVE

RELAXATION

TRAINING ON

IMPROVEMENT

OFATTENTIVENESS MEDIATED BY

TRANSIENT FEELINGS

AND

PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL INDICES

OF ANXIETY

By

CHAN SUE MEI

Dissertation submitted in partially fulfilment

of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Health Science (Exercise and Sport Science)

JUNE 2013

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I thank God for this opportunity that given me to do my thesiswith giving me courage, focus and strength to complete this thesis.

I also would like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisor Dr. Srilekha Saha for his encouragement, guidance and support me throughout the preparation of this dissertation.

Special thanks to my helpful friend Ms. Nurfarah Ezzaty binti Mohd Zahir as my co partner who had me a lot during my research study. And also special thanks to all Exercice and Sport Science Officers and staffs of USM especially to Mr. Hafezi Mat Zain and Puan Mazra Othman for their co-operation to allow me using the laboratory and instruments forthis study.

My greatest gratitude to all participants who volunteered themselves to participate in my study.

My lovely thank to my beloved family for all the support during the research period.

Without them, I don’t think I canbe this strong and tough to complete this thesis.

CHAN SUE MEI JUNE 2013

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LIST OF TABLES

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Table 1: Descriptive Statisticsexplaining natureofchanges depicted in differentphases of experiment(forparticipantsof Control Condition)

Table 2: Descriptive Statistics explainingnature ofchanges depicted in different phases of experiment (for participants whoreceived trainingofAPMR)

Table 3: Descriptive Statistics explaining nature of changes depicted in different phases ofexperiment (for participants who received trainingofactive relaxation)

Table 4: Mean of State anxiety for three different groups across the experimental sessions

Table 5: Mean of Simple reaction ability for three different groups across the experimental sessions

Table 6: Mean of Complex reaction ability for three different groups across the experimental sessions

Table 7; Mean of Tonic skin conductance parameters for three different groups across the experimental sessions

Table 8: Mean of Phasic skin conductance parameters for three different groups across the experimental sessions

Table 12: Tests of Within-Subjects Effects - checking the effect of covariates of psychobiological parameters observed in different phases from the participants ofboth of theexperimental groups I & II.

Table 13: Multiple linear regression representing contribution of autonomic predictors (when only participants who received APMRwere included).

Table 14: Multiple linear regression representing contribution of autonomic predictors (when participants who received trainingof Active Relaxation were only included).

Table 15: Multiple linear regression representing contribution of autonomic predictors (when participants who receivedtrainingofAPMRwere only included).

Table 16; Multiple linear regression representing contribution of autonomic predictors (when only participantswho received APMRwere included).

Table 11: Tests of Within-Subjects Effects - checking the effect of covariates of psychological, psychomotor and psychobiological parameters observed in different phases from the participants of the experimental group 2.

Table 9; Tests of Within-Subjects Effects - checking the effect of covariates of psychological and psychomotor parameters observed in different phases from the participants ofthecontrol group.

Table 10: Tests of Within-Subjects Effects - checking the effect of covariates of psychological and psychomotor parameters observed in different phases from the participantsof theexperimental groupI.

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LIST OF FIGURES

: Flow Chart Figure 1

Figure 2

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Table 18: Multiple linear regression representing contribution of autonomic predictors (when only participantsof control group were included).

Table 17: Multiple linear regression representing contribution ofautonomic predictors (whenonlyparticipants who received Active Relaxation were included).

: Fig. 2.0 Adapted from Saha et al. (2013), explaining combined significance of both Thalamo-Cortical-Amygdaloid (TCA) pathways and Hypothalamic- Pituitary-Adrenaline (HPA) Axis in emotional regulation toward achievement of high attentive performance

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Adaptation Level AL

AnalysisofVariance ANOVA

Abbreviated Progressive Muscle Relaxation APMR

Active Relaxation AR

Beck Anxiety Inventory BAI

Complex reaction time CRT

Competitive StateAnxiety Inventory 2 CSAI-2R

Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale DASS

Group Exercise GE

Galvanic Skin Resistance GSR

Psychogalvanic Reflex PGR

Progressive Muscle Relaxation PMR

Progressive Muscle Relaxation Training PMRT

Reaction Timer RT

State-Anxiety SA

Skin Conductance Sc

StandardDeviation SD

Spontaneous Fluctuation SF

Stress Management Intervention SMI

Statistical Package for Social Sciences SPSS

Skin Resistance SR

SimpleReaction time SRT

State-Trait Anxiety Inventory STAI

TA Trait-Anxiety

USMKK Universiti Sains Malaysia Kubang Kerian

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ABSTRACT

Thepresentstudy was undertaken with an objective todetermine differential efficacyof psychotherapeutic interventions, namely abbreviated progressive muscle relaxation (APMR) exercise training and active relaxation in enhancing attentive capacity in young active female participants. Twenty seven female students ofUniversiti Sains Malaysia in the age ranging from 18 to 24 years volunteered as participants, who were assessed with dispositional and transient anxiety by employing Spielberger’s State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Thereafter, they were randomly categorized into three groups; viz. - Group A- control group; Group B - participants received training of APMR and Group C - participants received training of Active relaxation. All of the participants were subjected to evaluation of transient anxiety; both simple and complex reaction ability; psychobiological measures of tonic and phasic skin conductance

intervention conditions were introduced to their respective intervention training programs following standardized protocol (15 minutes/day; 2 days/week for 6 weeks).

Mid-term analyses (all of the parameters of pre-intervention analyses were repeated) were done three weeks after the introduction of intervention sessions. Thereafter the similar protocol of intervention was followed for three more weeks. Thereafterall of the participants were assessed once again for the post-intervention analyses (following similar analyses protocols). Findings of the analyses suggested that both APMR and active relaxation intervention had beneficial impacts on attentive performance, characterized by psychomotor simple muscular reaction time and on cognitively dominated complex reaction performance. Furthermore, both of the interventions have been observed to result inalteration in the psychobiological make-upof the participants, which finallyresulted in improvements inattentiveperformances.

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activity as measure of pre-intervention analyses. Thereafter the participants of

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ABSTRAK

Kajian ini telah dijalankan dengan objektifuntuk menentukan keberkesanan perbezaan ^?

(APMR) dan relaksasi aktif dalam meningkatkan tumpuan dalam kalangan peserta

Malaysia dalam lingkungan usia 18 hingga 24 tahun menawarkan diri secara sukarela sebagai peserta, dan dinilai dengan kebimbangan disposisi dan transien dengan menggunakan “State and Trait Anxiety Inventory” (STAI) Spielberger. Selepas itu mereka dikategorikan secara rawak kepada tiga kumpulan, iaitu. - Kumpulan A- kumpulan kawalan; Kumpulan B - peserta menerima latihan APMR dan Kumpulan C -

kebimbangan transien; kedua-dua keupayaan tindak balas ringkas dan kompleks;

mengukur psikobiologikal tonik dan phasic aktiviti konduktan kulit sebagai pengukuran analisis pra-intervensi. Selepas itu peserta intervensi diperkenalkan kepada program latihan intervensi masing-masing dengan mengikuti protokol piawaian(15 minit/ hari, 2 hari / minggu selama 6 minggu). Analisis Pertengahan Intervensi (semua parameter analisis pra-intervensi diulangi) dan dilakukan tiga minggu selepas pengenalan sesi intervensi. Selepas ituprotokol intervensi yang sama dilakukan selama tiga minggulagi.

Selepas itu semua peserta dinilai sekali lagi untuk analisis akhir intervensi (yang mengikuti protokol analisis yang sama). Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahawa kedua-dua APMR dan intervensi relaksasi aktif mempunyai kesan positif ke atas prestasi tumpuan.

berunsurkan psikomotor masa tindak balas otot ringkas dan kognitif dikuasai prestasi tindak balas kompleks. Tambahan pula, kedua-dua intervensi telah menyebabkan perubahan dalam psikobiologikal peserta, yang akhirnya menyebabkan peningkatan dalam prestasitumpuan.

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intervensi psikoterapi, iaitu latihan senaman singkat relaksasi otot secara progresif

perempuan muda dan aktif. Dua puluh tujuh pelajar perempuan Universiti Sains

peserta menerima latihan relaksasi aktif. Semua peserta menjalani penilaian

Efficacy of abbreviated progressive muscle relaxation and active relaxation training on improvement of attentiveness mediated by transient feelings and psychobiological indices of anxiety

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