Effectiveness of video-based and traditional intervention in school on anxiety among primary school children

Despite widespread remote psychological interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the difference between the effectiveness of remote digital and face-to-face methods in school-based intervention programs remains unclear. This study examined the difference between the effectiveness of video and face-to-face based problem-solving training on primary (elementary) school students’ anxiety and cognitive bias. Participants included 125 Grades 5 and 6 students. One group was assigned the video-based intervention, and another group was assigned the face-to-face intervention. The face-to-face group experienced a reduction in levels of anxiety, whereas the video group did not. The main effect of time suggested a reduction in cognitive bias across both groups. Although both groups understood the intervention content, the face-to-face group may have experienced more immediate anxiety-reducing effects.