A clinical psychologist investigated the effectiveness of three different interventions for managing occupational stress.
A group of 90 participants were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: Propranolol (a beta-blocker), Diazepam (a benzodiazepine), or Stress Inoculation Training (SIT, a cognitive-behavioural psychological therapy).
Each participant completed a standardized assessment to measure their Coping Capacity Index (CCI) after 2 weeks of treatment and again after 12 weeks of treatment. The CCI ranges from 0 to 100, where a higher score represents a greater capacity to cope with occupational stressors.
The average results for each group are shown in Table 1 below.
| Biological: Propranolol | Biological: Diazepam | Psychological: Stress Inoculation Training (SIT) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average CCI score after 2 weeks | 58.4 | 72.1 | 35.6 |
| Average CCI score after 12 weeks | 60.2 | 54.8 | 84.3 |
What do these results show about the effectiveness of different methods of stress management?
Practise AQA A Level Psychology Managing and coping with stress with exam-style questions for A Level Psychology. 49 questions, matched to the AQA A Level Psychology (7182) specification and written in Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.
