ABSTRACT
AIM
To explore the effect of relaxation therapy applied to people with anxiety disorders.
METHODS
Systematic review with meta-analysis.
RESULTS
Sixteen Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) were included for meta-analysis to determine
the effect of relaxation therapy. The overall effect of relaxation therapy on symptom
of anxiety was significant with Hedges' g = 0.62 (95% CI: 0.42–0.81), which indicates a medium-high effect; heterogeneity was
statistically significant with I2 = 48.84. Subgroup analysis exploring the possible causes of heterogeneity found that
types of comparison of TAU and CBT was significant (Q = 4.20, p = 0.04). The effect of relaxation therapy on symptoms of depression, phobia, and worry
was significant; Hedges' g = 0.44 (95% CI: 0.30–0.59), 0.40 (95% CI: 0.06–0.75), 0.54 (95% CI: 0.28–0.79), respectively.
CONCLUSION
The results of this study provide evidence for the effectiveness of relaxation therapy
for people with anxiety disorders. Therefore, relaxation therapy can be selected as
a useful intervention for reducing negative emotions in people with anxiety disorders.
KEYWORDS
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 20, 2017
Accepted:
November 18,
2017
Received:
October 2,
2017
Footnotes
☆The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
Identification
Copyright
© 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
