Biofeedback relaxation potential for reduction of students with Type A behaviour pattern reaction to stressor

Abstract

This study aimed at assessing the potential of biofeedback relaxation in reducing psychophysiological reaction to an audiovisual stressor in students having Type A behaviour pattern. Subjects of the study were 14 men and 46 women aged between 18 and 30. The participants of this study were randomly assigned to two different groups. One group received four biofeedback relaxation training sessions once a week between two measurements of their reaction to the audiovisual stressor and the other was a control group. Subjects completed the Students Jenkin’s Activity Survey (SJAS) to measure their degree of Type A pattern. Body temperature, skin conductance, heart rate and respiratory rate were recorded while measuring participants’ reaction to the audiovisual stressor. The results of this study showed that, after the biofeedback relaxation trainings, psychophysiological reaction to the audiovisual stressor decreased for subjects having Type A behaviour pattern (skin conductance, skin temperature, respiratory rate decreased).