Coates McDowall, Holly; Rimfeld, Kaili; Krishnan, Saloni; (2025) Cognitive Reappraisal Reduces Academic Anxiety in University Students With Dyslexia. Mind, Brain, and Education , 19 (11) pp. 18-31. 10.1111/mbe.12434.

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Abstract

University students with dyslexia have greater anxiety than their peers without dyslexia, especially related to their academic studies. Most universities focus on mitigating the learning needs of these students, for example, providing more time during exams. Relatively little attention is paid to the psychological impact of having dyslexia. In this preregistered study, we investigated whether cognitive reappraisal reduced academic anxiety in university students with dyslexia. We codesigned negative and neutral scenarios about academic life with university students with dyslexia. We presented university students (54 students with dyslexia and 51 neurotypical students) with these scenarios about academic life and asked them to rate their anxiety. As hypothesized, we observed that students with dyslexia had higher academic anxiety than those without dyslexia (d = 0.43). When instructed to use cognitive reappraisal, all students, irrespective of having dyslexia or not, benefitted from an anxiety reduction (d = 0.87). Our experimental research indicates cognitive reappraisal may be a valuable tool to support students. Furthermore, it may help those with dyslexia to manage the heightened emotional demands of academia. Intervention trials that assess the real-world implementation of cognitive reappraisal are now warranted.

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