The prevalence of autistic students is continuously increasing. Research has indicated several factors that increase anxiety in autistic students, including uncertainty, social demands, bullying experiences, and the social environment. Camouflaging (or masking) is a behavior exhibited by many autistic students, many female, and it is linked to anxiety with a feeling that they may not be able to “take off the mask” in their school environment. If these students feel as though they have a weak sense of school-belonging, they are more likely to camouflage and have greater anxiety. The researchers decided to test these theories by surveying parents and their autistic children. The childrens’ surveys included questions such as, “Do you feel like you can be your true self at school” and also included an ASC-ASD questionnaire to gauge anxiety in autistic children. 

The research found that the relationship between sense of school belonging and anxiety is mediated by camouflaging. They also found that a key element to supporting a sense of belonging was relationships, and school staff were mentioned to be important in supporting a sense of school belonging. Additionally, having a safe school environment and being accepted and understood increased the sense of belonging, therefore decreasing anxiety. Based on their results, the researchers suggest that an effective way to reduce anxiety in autistic students is to “create school environments where they can experience belongingness, and therefore do not need to camouflage”. In order to do this, the researchers suggest creating strong relationships with these students and creating “hubs” where autistic students can feel free to unmask and truly be themselves.  

This article is a literature review of research done on the relationship between Self-regulated learning (SRL) and mathematical anxiety in students. SRL is defined as “the process of developing an individual’s ability to understand and control their learning, essentially learning how to learn”. Most of the articles studied focused on middle school students, followed by higher education and high school students. The main conclusion of this article is that there is a significant relationship between SRL and mathematical anxiety. High levels of SRL are associated with low levels of anxiety. This research suggests that developing the skills necessary for SRL can potentially alleviate mathematical anxiety.The authors write, “fostering SRL can significantly alleviate mathematics anxiety among students, highlighting the importance of teaching strategies that promote self-efficacy and motivation”. The authors suggest that there is a need to incorporate SRL into mathematics education to enhance student achievement and reduce student anxiety. 

In this article, researchers surveyed general education teachers serving students from predominately racially and ethnically minoritized and low-income backgrounds. These teachers reported that between 21–30% of their students experienced problems with anxiety. The researchers found that “teachers identified nuanced school-based stressors (e.g.,trickle down pressure to perform on assessments; drills and safety threats at school in the context of recent media coverage of mass shootings), as well as various cultural and contextual stressors (e.g., resource insecurity, immigration experiences, systemic oppression) that cause anxiety in their students”. They also found that, “teachers perceive: 1) students’ anxieties are mostly proportional responses to stressful events,rather than excessive and unfounded, 2) systems-level problems and inequities contribute to student anxiety,and 3) school-based sources of anxiety (e.g., testing)often interact with the traumas and stressors that students experience outside of school (e.g., immigration-related stressors and adjustment challenges, pressure for minoritized youth to succeed to build familial wealth)”. 

The article concludes that, “To better serve youth and families from low-income and minoritized backgrounds, conceptual frameworks and measures of anxiety would be strengthened by inclusion of cultural and contextual stressors”. The authors suggest that more attention should be put on the broader systems and policies that put students at risk for anxiety in addition to identifying individual supports. 

The article “Anxiety and Teacher–Student Relationships in Secondary School: A Systematic Literature Review” by Darby Salter, Aswathi Neelakandan, and Viviana M. Wuthrich (2024), explores how relationships between teachers and students affect anxiety levels in secondary school students. The review looked at 26 studies from 12 different countries and found a clear pattern: students who have warm, supportive, and caring relationships with their teachers tend to experience less anxiety, especially related to school and tests.

On the other hand, when teacher–student relationships are negative, such as when there's conflict, over-involvement, or a lack of support, students are more likely to feel anxious. The article also points out that emotional and motivational support from teachers can help reduce different types of anxiety, including social and academic anxiety. These positive relationships not only lower anxiety but also help students build resilience and healthy ways to cope with stress.

Overall, the review emphasizes how important it is for schools to focus on building positive relationships between students and teachers as a way to support student mental health. It also calls for more research to better understand how and why these relationships make a difference.

The article “The Role of the School Nurse in Social‑Emotional Assessment and Intervention Using the MTSS Framework” by Lytle, Rau, and Stoner (2024) highlights how school nurses play a vital role in supporting students’ emotional well-being through the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). In this framework, school nurses provide tiered care that begins with universal support for all students and extends to more targeted or intensive interventions as needed. At Tier 1, students visiting the nurse's office complete a brief screening to check in on both physical and emotional health, using tools like emotion scales with facial expressions to help younger students express how they feel. This helps nurses connect emotional stress—like anxiety—with physical symptoms such as headaches or stomachaches, and allows them to offer strategies like deep breathing or calming techniques.

For students who continue to experience emotional or physical distress, school nurses work closely with counselors, teachers, and families to provide more personalized support. This may include regular check-ins, emotional regulation strategies, and a collaborative care plan. One of the most significant findings was a 15.6% decrease in nurse visits in the first quarter of the 2023–2024 school year compared to the same period the year before—showing a drop from 54,514 to 46,006 visits. This reduction suggests that students were better able to manage their stress and emotional needs independently after receiving appropriate interventions. The article emphasizes that by using early screening and structured supports, school nurses help students build lifelong self-regulation skills and reduce unnecessary time out of class—improving both emotional health and academic success.

The article "The Power of Breath: Enhancing Student Health and Well-Being with Deep Breathing in Elementary School Classrooms" explains how using deep breathing exercises in the classroom can help young students feel better emotionally, perform better in school, and build healthier habits.

One of the main benefits of deep breathing is that it helps reduce stress and anxiety. For example, a program called "Calm Classroom" used short breathing and mindfulness exercises with students in Los Angeles, which led to fewer behavior problems in just a few weeks. Students were better able to manage their emotions and stay calm during the school day.

Deep breathing can also improve academic performance. In one study, third and fourth grade students who did daily breathing exercises scored higher on math tests than students who didn’t. Even months after the breathing program ended, the students still performed better, showing that the effects lasted over time.

Another benefit is better sleep. A study from Stanford University found that children who practiced mindfulness and breathing exercises slept over an hour longer each night and got more REM sleep, which is important for brain growth and emotional health.

Breathing exercises also helped students be kinder and more social with their classmates. In one study, girls who practiced daily breathing were more supportive of their peers and showed more positive behavior.

For teachers, deep breathing is an easy and low-cost tool to use in the classroom. It doesn’t need any special equipment and can be added into the school day with just a few minutes at the beginning of class or after recess. Regular use of deep breathing can help students manage emotions, focus better, do well in school, and get along with others.

This article offers evidence that the use of Mindfulness-based practices (MBP) when implemented into school programs decreases stress and anxiety in students, especially those with disabilities. According to the article, mindfulness describes an individual's awareness of their current emotional state and acceptance of this state, without judgment. Mind-body practices such as yoga, meditation, and breathing techniques promote self-awareness and self-regulation in students. The article explains that these tools can be especially useful to students who struggle with regulating their emotions or those experiencing an elevated state of anxiety or stress. 

Research on the effects of meditation on adolescents in a school-based setting found improvement in overall stress, self-esteem, and physical or emotional health. Similar results were found when targeting male students from ages 8-14 with Autism, as well as showing an enhanced mood and classroom performance. In another study, yoga was found to increase self-esteem in female high school students. Finally, when researching mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for children aged 9-13, it was found to reduce symptoms of anxiety and difficulties with attention.

The article then goes into detail on how to implement this program, referencing a multitiered system of support. Tier 1 involves a universal practice of mindfulness for all students. In Tier 2, these practices are broken up into small groups, tailored to their needs for support. Finally, in Tier 3, these mindfulness practices are individualized for students with high-level needs. Throughout these practices, it's recommended to use modeling, verbal/visual instruction, cue words, and reinforcers to support students' learning these new techniques. 

This article explores the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral interventions (CBIs) in treating test anxiety among school-aged students. The study focused on secondary school students aged 14 to 16 who were preparing for high-stakes examinations. Participants identified as highly test-anxious through a screening process were randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group.

The intervention implemented was the STEPS program, a structured, six-session cognitive-behavioral intervention specifically designed for adolescents. Each 45-minute session targeted a different aspect of test anxiety. Session 1 introduced the causes and effects of test anxiety, session 2 addressed negative or biased thinking patterns related to failure, session 3 focused on managing the physical and emotional symptoms of anxiety, session 4 taught effective study habits and test-taking strategies, session 5 aimed to motivate students to confront avoidant behaviors and session 6 reviewed and evaluated the application of different learned strategies.

Each session incorporated a range of activities and included homework assignments to reinforce the techniques taught. The results demonstrated a significant reduction in test anxiety among students who participated in the STEPS intervention. Additionally, participants showed a small to moderate decrease in clinical anxiety symptoms following the program.

This study aimed to evaluate the relative effectiveness of individual versus group therapy for university students experiencing anxiety and depression. A total of 41 students with moderate to severe symptoms were randomly assigned to either individual or group therapy for a duration of six weeks. Participants completed standardized assessments before and after treatment to measure changes in their symptoms.

 Students in the individual therapy group received one-on-one counseling for one hour each week, while those in the group therapy condition attended weekly 1.5-hour sessions. Findings revealed a significant reduction in both anxiety and depression symptoms across participants, with no statistically significant difference between the two treatment methods. 

Based on these results, the researchers concluded that group therapy is a comparably effective intervention and recommended its increased use in university counseling services to support increasing student mental health concerns in schools.