@misc{9250721,
  abstract     = {{Fear of public speaking [FOPS] is a phenomenon that may limit students´ abilty to demonstrate their actual abilities in oral presentations, which constitutes an assessment component in the subject of Swedish. If, as a result of experienced FOPS, a student fails the Swedish subject, their opportunity to obtain an upper secondary school diploma may be affected, potentially resulting in negative consequences for their future academic, professional, and civic life.
 
The aim of this study was to investigate whether controlled deep breathing can serve as a pedagogical tool for managing experienced FOPS and thereby enhance students´ ability to demonstrate their actual knowledge, while also facilitating more accurate assessment. To achieve this aim, an intervention was conducted in which six upper secondary school students who experienced FOPS applied controlled deep breathing in connection with an assessed oral presentation – in this case a Swedish national test. To enable a comparison of the intervention´s impact on FOPS, the participants also completed a practice test prior to the implementation of the intervention. 

The study was based on a mixed methods approach, where data collection consisted of observations, interviews, and a self-assessment questionnaire. To identify potential variables that may have influenced the results, a comparison group was included, whose participation involved completing the self-assessment questionnaire. 

The results show that the participants experienced the intervention as contributing to a reduced experience of FOPS and increased their ability to cope with both physiological and psychological reactions. Overall, the controlled deep breathing method is considered to have the potential to serve as a pedagogical tool for supporting students in managing experienced FOPS.}},
  author       = {{Söderberg, Emilia}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Ett andetag i taget - En interventionsstudie om kontrollerad djupandning för att hantera talrädsla}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}