Cognitive-Behavioral Psychoeducational Program for Cultural Adaptation and Psychological Resilience Among International Students

August 31, 2026 updated by: Dilem Öke, European University of Lefke

The Effect of a Psychological Adaptation and Psychological Resilience Psychoeducation Program on Acculturative Stress Among International Students

This study evaluated a psychoeducational program developed to support psychological adaptation and resilience among first-year international university students experiencing elevated acculturative stress. Participants who met the study eligibility criteria were assigned to one of three study conditions: a cognitive-behavioral psychoeducation group, a placebo-control group receiving career guidance activities, or a waiting-list control group. The psychoeducational intervention was delivered over eight weeks. Psychological adaptation, resilience, and acculturative stress-related outcomes were assessed using standardized self-report measures before and after the intervention. The study aimed to examine whether participation in the psychoeducational program was associated with changes in these psychological outcomes compared with the two control conditions.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
36

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Northern Cyprus
      • Mersin, Northern Cyprus, Turkey (Türkiye), 99010
        • European University of Lefke

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Scoring more than one standard deviation above the overall sample mean on the Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students (ASSIS).
  • Being a first-year international student enrolled at the study university.
  • Providing written informed consent.
  • Being able to attend the eight-week intervention program regularly.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Not meeting the predefined ASSIS criterion for elevated acculturative stress.
  • Not being a first-year international student.
  • Not providing written informed consent.
  • Being unable to attend the eight-week intervention program regularly.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Cognitive-Behavioral Psychoeducation Group
Participants assigned to this arm received the cognitive-behavioral psychoeducational program developed to support psychological adaptation and resilience and to reduce acculturative stress among international students. The program was delivered over eight weeks.
Behavioral: Cognitive-Behavioral Psychoeducational Program
The intervention consisted of a structured cognitive-behavioral psychoeducational program designed to support psychological adaptation and resilience and to address acculturative stress among international students. The program was delivered once weekly for eight weeks, for a total of eight sessions. Sessions included psychoeducational and cognitive-behavioral activities focusing on cultural adaptation, coping with acculturative stress, and psychological resilience.
Active Comparator: Placebo-Control Group
Participants assigned to this arm received a career-guidance psychoeducational program that did not include the cognitive-behavioral components targeting psychological adaptation, resilience, or acculturative stress.
Behavioral: Career-Guidance Psychoeducational Program
Participants received a career-guidance psychoeducational program designed to provide information and activities related to career development. The program was delivered once weekly for eight weeks, for a total of eight sessions. It did not include the cognitive-behavioral components specifically targeting psychological adaptation, resilience, or acculturative stress.
No Intervention: Waiting-List Control Group
Participants assigned to this arm did not receive a study intervention during the eight-week intervention period and served as a waiting-list control group.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Acculturative Stress
Time Frame: Baseline and immediately after the 8-week intervention
Acculturative stress was assessed using the Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students (ASSIS), developed by Sandhu and Asrabadi (1994). The ASSIS consists of 36 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Total scores range from 36 to 180, with higher scores indicating greater acculturative stress. Change in ASSIS total scores from baseline to post-intervention was evaluated.
Baseline and immediately after the 8-week intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
European University of Lefke

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
February 24, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 12, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 12, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 31, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 31, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
September 3, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 3, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 31, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • EUL-DOKE-001

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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