Nov 11 2008
MASSAGE THERAPY AS A TECHNIQUE FOR COPING WITH STRESS.
SHELEIGH LAWLER & LINDA CAMERON
IN COLLABORATION WITH
THE NEW ZEALAND COLLEGE OF MASSAGE
This study assessed the effectiveness of massage therapy as an intervention for coping with stress in healthy university students approaching final examinations (N = 34). Participants were randomly assigned to an attention control condition (watching 3 different television programmes) or to a massage therapy group, who received one 45-minute massage per week for 3 consecutive weeks. Measures of blood pressure, heart rate, and state anxiety (State Trait Anxiety Inventory – short form) were taken before and after each of the sessions. Stress (Perceived Stress Scale) and coping (Coping Efficacy) were measured three times at baseline (T1), immediately after the three sessions (T2), and at one week follow up (T3). Both groups reported lower anxiety after each of the sessions; however, the massage group had a greater reduction in comparison to the television group (p < .05). The massage group had a lower heart rate after each of the massages, while the television group showed no change (p < .05). There were no significant differences between the groups for systolic and diastolic blood pressure. At T2 the massage group reported a significant decrease in perceived stress and an increase in coping efficacy (p < .05). However, by time 3 these effects are no longer evident. Implications for stress and coping from a self-regulatory perspective will be discussed, using Leventhal’s (1997) Parallel Response Model.
