Statistical analyses
anxiety
Statistical analyses were carried out using the open-source software environment RStudio. For all analyses, significance level was set at Initially planned multiple imputation was not conducted, as there were less than 3% participants with missing data and the missingness appeared to be completely random (e.g., due to nonattendance at exams because of COVID-19). The five participants with missing data were thus not considered for analyses (see Fig. To assess differences in changes from baseline (T1) to endpoint (T4; primary analyses) and follow-up (T5) in test anxiety across the three groups, two separate omnibus tests (ANCOVA) using treatment group as the independent factor and baseline (T1) as covariate to control for baseline differencesTo analyze test performance across groups, we followed a two-step approach as there were continuous (grades) as well as binary (pass/fail) test scores. First, we performed an analysis only with participants having a continuous test score (1–6) using an ANOVA to test for overall effects and above-mentioned contrasts. Second, all continuous variables were transformed into a binary test score (pass ≥ 4; fail < 4) and reported as percentages of passing.In order to investigate differences in treatment expectancy of relief across groups, an overall ANOVA was performed using the expectancy scores as outcome and group as between-subject factor. A priori contrasts were then used to explore differences across groups. Furthermore, we calculated correlations in order to investigate possible relationships between treatment expectancy of relief and test anxietyTo investigate the influence of study contact duration and treatment provider on test anxiety we used a linear model with the corresponding variable as independent factor and changes in test anxiety from T1 to T4 as dependent variable. To analyze the open-ended questions about attitudes toward the idea about the two interventions, two independent raters rated each statement as "positive," "negative," or "neutral". When ratings differed, a consensus was reached by a third rater.