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Original Article
The Effects of Aromatherapy on Stress and Stress Responses in Adolescents
Ji-Yeong Seo
Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing 2009;39(3):357-365.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4040/jkan.2009.39.3.357
Published online: June 29, 2009

Full-time Lecturer, Department of Nursing, Youngnam Foreign Language College, Gyeongsan, Korea.

Address reprint requests to: Seo, Ji-Yeong. Department of Nursing, Youngnam Foreign Language College, 220-1 Hyeopseok-ri, Namcheon-myeon, Gyeongsan 712-717, Korea. Tel: 82-53-810-7763, Fax: 82-53-810-0199, marseo@hanmail.net
• Received: August 13, 2008   • Accepted: May 18, 2009

Copyright © 2009 Korean Society of Nursing Science

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  • Purpose
    This study was done to examine the effects of aromatherapy on stress and stress responses in adolescents.
  • Methods
    A two-group cross-over design was used for this study. The experimental treatment was aroma essential oil inhalation and the placebo treatment was carrier oil inhalation using a necklace. The sample included 36 female high school students. Fisher's exact test, t-test, and paired t-test using SPSS/WIN program were used to analyze the data.
  • Results
    Stress levels were significantly lower when the students received the aroma treatment compared to when they received the placebo treatment. The stress responses except salivary IgA levels were significantly lower when the students received the aroma treatment.
  • Conclusion
    Aroma inhalation could be a very effective stress management method for high school students. Therefore, it is recommended that this program be used in clinical practice as an effective nursing intervention for high school students.
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Figure 1
Research design.
O1, O2, O3, O4=stress, anxiety, physical symptoms, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), pulse rate (PR), Cortisol, IgA.
X1=aroma (bergamot essential oil) inhalation (solid line).
X2=placebo (carrier oil & artificial flavor) inhalation (dotted line).
Group 1=aroma inhalation-1st & Placebo inhalation-2nd; Group 2=placebo inhalation-1st & Aroma inhalation-2nd.
jkan-39-357-g001.jpg
Table 1
Homogeneity Test for General Characteristics between the Group 1 and Group 2 at Pre-test (O1) (N=36)
jkan-39-357-i001.jpg

Group 1=aroma inhalation-1st & placebo inhalation-2nd; Group 2=placebo inhalation-1st & aroma inhalation-2nd.

Table 2
Homogeneity Test for Dependent Variables at Pre-test (O1) (N=36)
jkan-39-357-i002.jpg

Group 1=aroma inhalation-1st & placebo inhalation-2nd; Group 2=placebo inhalation-1st & aroma inhalation-2nd; SBP=systolic blood pressure; DBP=diastolic blood pressure; PR=pulse rate; IgA=immunoglobulin A.

Table 3
Stress Score and Stress Response per Every Period in Group 1 and Group 2
jkan-39-357-i003.jpg

O1 & O3 was pre-test in both group 1 and group 2; O2 was after aroma inhalation in group 1, and after placebo inhalation in group 2; O4 was after placebo inhalation in group 1, and after aroma inhalation in group 2.

SBP=systolic blood pressure; DBP=diastolic blood pressure; PR=pulse rate; IgA=immunoglobulin A.

Table 4
Changes in Stress Score and Stress Response between the Post-Aroma and Post-Placebo
jkan-39-357-i004.jpg

Mean difference of aroma group=O2-O1 of Group 1 and O4-O3 of Group 2; Mean difference of placebo group=O4-O3 of Group 1 and O2-O1 of Group 2; SBP=systolic blood pressure; DBP=diastolic blood pressure; PR=pulse rate; IgA=immunoglobulin A.

Figure & Data

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        The Effects of Aromatherapy on Stress and Stress Responses in Adolescents
        J Korean Acad Nurs. 2009;39(3):357-365.   Published online June 29, 2009
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      The Effects of Aromatherapy on Stress and Stress Responses in Adolescents
      Image
      Figure 1 Research design. O1, O2, O3, O4=stress, anxiety, physical symptoms, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), pulse rate (PR), Cortisol, IgA. X1=aroma (bergamot essential oil) inhalation (solid line). X2=placebo (carrier oil & artificial flavor) inhalation (dotted line). Group 1=aroma inhalation-1st & Placebo inhalation-2nd; Group 2=placebo inhalation-1st & Aroma inhalation-2nd.
      The Effects of Aromatherapy on Stress and Stress Responses in Adolescents

      Homogeneity Test for General Characteristics between the Group 1 and Group 2 at Pre-test (O1) (N=36)

      Group 1=aroma inhalation-1st & placebo inhalation-2nd; Group 2=placebo inhalation-1st & aroma inhalation-2nd.

      Homogeneity Test for Dependent Variables at Pre-test (O1) (N=36)

      Group 1=aroma inhalation-1st & placebo inhalation-2nd; Group 2=placebo inhalation-1st & aroma inhalation-2nd; SBP=systolic blood pressure; DBP=diastolic blood pressure; PR=pulse rate; IgA=immunoglobulin A.

      Stress Score and Stress Response per Every Period in Group 1 and Group 2

      O1 & O3 was pre-test in both group 1 and group 2; O2 was after aroma inhalation in group 1, and after placebo inhalation in group 2; O4 was after placebo inhalation in group 1, and after aroma inhalation in group 2.

      SBP=systolic blood pressure; DBP=diastolic blood pressure; PR=pulse rate; IgA=immunoglobulin A.

      Changes in Stress Score and Stress Response between the Post-Aroma and Post-Placebo

      Mean difference of aroma group=O2-O1 of Group 1 and O4-O3 of Group 2; Mean difference of placebo group=O4-O3 of Group 1 and O2-O1 of Group 2; SBP=systolic blood pressure; DBP=diastolic blood pressure; PR=pulse rate; IgA=immunoglobulin A.

      Table 1 Homogeneity Test for General Characteristics between the Group 1 and Group 2 at Pre-test (O1) (N=36)

      Group 1=aroma inhalation-1st & placebo inhalation-2nd; Group 2=placebo inhalation-1st & aroma inhalation-2nd.

      Table 2 Homogeneity Test for Dependent Variables at Pre-test (O1) (N=36)

      Group 1=aroma inhalation-1st & placebo inhalation-2nd; Group 2=placebo inhalation-1st & aroma inhalation-2nd; SBP=systolic blood pressure; DBP=diastolic blood pressure; PR=pulse rate; IgA=immunoglobulin A.

      Table 3 Stress Score and Stress Response per Every Period in Group 1 and Group 2

      O1 & O3 was pre-test in both group 1 and group 2; O2 was after aroma inhalation in group 1, and after placebo inhalation in group 2; O4 was after placebo inhalation in group 1, and after aroma inhalation in group 2.

      SBP=systolic blood pressure; DBP=diastolic blood pressure; PR=pulse rate; IgA=immunoglobulin A.

      Table 4 Changes in Stress Score and Stress Response between the Post-Aroma and Post-Placebo

      Mean difference of aroma group=O2-O1 of Group 1 and O4-O3 of Group 2; Mean difference of placebo group=O4-O3 of Group 1 and O2-O1 of Group 2; SBP=systolic blood pressure; DBP=diastolic blood pressure; PR=pulse rate; IgA=immunoglobulin A.


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