Creative Drama on Gender Role Stress, Attitudes Toward Violence Against Women, and Aggression

April 7, 2026 updated by: Aslı SİS ÇELİK, Ataturk University

Determining the Impact of Creative Drama on Gender Role Stress, Attitudes Toward Violence Against Women, and Aggression Among Men Affected by an Earthquake:A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study aims to examine the effect of Creative Drama on gender role stress, attitudes toward violence against women, and aggression among men who experienced the February 6, 2023 earthquake in Türkiye (centered in Kahramanmaraş).

A total of 75 men (25 experimental, 25 placebo, and 25 control) will participate in the study. The experimental group will take part in a creative drama program, the placebo group will watch films focusing on masculinity roles and violence for 10 weeks, and no intervention will be applied to the control group.

Data will be collected using the Gender Role Stress Scale for Men, the Attitudes Toward Violence Against Women Scale, and the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire - Short Form, and will be analyzed by an independent statistician.

The study aims to enhance the psychological well-being of men affected by the earthquake in Türkiye, reduce violence against women, and contribute to gender equality.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

On February 6, 2023, two major earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.7 and 7.6 struck Türkiye, affecting 11 provinces, with Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Adıyaman, and Malatya among the most severely impacted regions. These disasters had profound psychosocial consequences, particularly for men exposed to trauma, displacement, and post-disaster stressors that may influence gender role stress, aggression, and attitudes toward violence against women.

This study is designed as a randomized controlled experimental trial to examine the effectiveness of a Creative Drama-based psychosocial intervention among men who experienced the February 6 earthquake and currently reside in Malatya. The research will be conducted between November 2025 and December 2026.

The intervention is structured around Creative Drama, an experiential and participatory method that combines role-playing, improvisation, group interaction, and reflective discussion. The Creative Drama program will consist of 10 weekly group sessions, each designed to encourage emotional expression, critical reflection on masculinity norms, awareness of gender roles, and non-violent coping strategies. Sessions will be conducted in small groups and facilitated by a trained researcher with experience in creative drama practices.

To control for attention and group interaction effects, a placebo group will be included. Participants in this group will attend weekly sessions during which they will watch selected Turkish films addressing themes related to masculinity, gender roles, aggression, and violence against women. These sessions will not include structured discussion or therapeutic guidance. A control group will receive no intervention during the study period.

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of the three groups (experimental, placebo, or control) using a simple randomization procedure to ensure equal group sizes. Due to the nature of the intervention, blinding of participants and the researcher will not be possible. However, outcome data will be coded and analyzed by an independent statistician who will be blinded to group allocation.

Data will be collected at baseline and after completion of the intervention using standardized and validated self-report instruments. The findings of this study are expected to contribute to the development of psychosocial interventions aimed at reducing gender role stress and aggressive behaviors, promoting gender equality, and preventing violence against women in post-disaster contexts.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

75

Phase

  • 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 Contact

Study Contact Backup

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Male individuals who experienced the 2023 Türkiye earthquake (centered in Kahramanmaraş) and currently live in Malatya.

Married during the earthquake and currently married.

Volunteer to participate in the study.

Aged between 18 and 65 years.

No hearing or visual impairments.

No intellectual disability.

At least primary school graduate.

No diagnosed psychiatric disorder.

Have not received creative drama training.

Have not received psychosocial support after the earthquake.

Have not participated in previous studies involving creative drama related to gender role stress, attitudes toward violence against women, or aggression.

Agree to attend weekly sessions and comply with the study program.

Exclusion Criteria:

Voluntary withdrawal from the study.

Failure to attend sessions regularly.

Changing residence to another city during the study period.

Divorce during the study period.

Beginning to receive psychosocial support during the study period.

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: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Arm 1: Experimental Group
Participants in this group will attend 10 weekly sessions of a Creative Drama program designed to reduce gender role stress, negative attitudes toward violence against women, and aggression.
Behavioral: Creative Drama Program
A structured 10-week Creative Drama program designed to reduce gender role stress, negative attitudes toward violence against women, and aggressive behaviors. Each session will include warm-up activities, improvisation, role-playing, and reflection components. Sessions will be conducted once a week for 90 minutes by a certified drama educator.
Placebo Comparator: Arm 2 - Placebo Group
Participants will watch 10 Turkish films over 10 weeks (one per week) containing themes of masculinity, violence against women, and aggression.
Behavioral: Film Viewing Sessions
Participants in the placebo group will watch 10 Turkish films over a 10-week period (one per week) that include themes of masculinity, gender roles, and violence. This intervention is designed as an attention-control condition to match the structure of the experimental group without providing therapeutic content.
No Intervention: Arm 3 - Control Group
Participants in this group will not receive any intervention during the study period.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Male Gender Role Stress Levels
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) and 10 weeks after intervention
To evaluate the effect of the Creative Drama Program on gender role stress among men who experienced the 2023 Türkiye earthquake. The Gender Role Stress Scale for Men will be used to measure changes in perceived gender-related stress. The minimum score that can be obtained from the scale is 27, and the maximum score is 130. Higher scores indicate a higher level of gender role stress in the individual.
Baseline (Week 0) and 10 weeks after intervention
Change in Attitudes Toward Violence Against Women
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) and 10 weeks after intervention
To assess the impact of the Creative Drama Program on men's attitudes toward violence against women. The Attitudes Toward Violence Against Women Scale will be administered to measure changes in participants' beliefs and attitudes. For the overall scale, the minimum possible score is 30 and the maximum score is 150. Higher scores indicate a negative attitude toward violence against women (i.e., the individual is opposed to violence against women), whereas lower scores indicate a positive attitude toward violence against women (i.e., the individual is not opposed to violence against women).
Baseline (Week 0) and 10 weeks after intervention
Change in Aggression Levels
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) and 10 weeks after intervention
To determine the effect of the Creative Drama Program on aggression among male earthquake survivors. The Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire - Short Form will be used to assess total aggression and subscale scores (physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility). For the overall scale, the minimum possible score is 29 and the maximum score is 145. As the score increases, the level of aggression also increases.
Baseline (Week 0) and 10 weeks after intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Ataturk University

Investigators

  • Study Director: Aslı SİS ÇELİK, Ataturk University

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 (Estimated)

March 30, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

April 30, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 17, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 17, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

November 21, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 9, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 7, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • aslı44

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

The individual participant data (IPD) will not be shared due to ethical considerations and the sensitivity of personal information collected from earthquake survivors. Only aggregated results will be published in scientific journals.

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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