The IESA Program: An Emotional Intelligence Intervention for First-Year Higher Education Students (IESA)

The IESA Program, an Emotional Intelligence-Based Intervention, in First-Year Higher Education Students: A Study of Student Outcomes

The IESA Program is an Emotional Intelligence (EI) intervention designed for first-year higher education students. The program is based on an ability-based EI framework and focuses on the development of four core emotional abilities: identifying, understanding, using, and managing emotions.

The intervention aims to support students as they transition into higher education and face personal, social, and academic challenges. The IESA Program is delivered in a group format and consists of ten weekly sessions.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Mental Health; Adaptation; Emotional Intelligence; Adjustment
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: IESA Program

Detailed Description

The IESA Program is a structured group intervention designed for first-year higher education students. The program operationalizes the ability-based model of emotional intelligence (Mayer & Salovey, 1997) and is delivered through ten weekly, two-hour sessions. Each session includes structured group activities and guided reflection to develop key emotional abilities.

Primary Outcomes:

The primary goal of the program is to foster students' emotional skills, specifically: Perception of emotions, comprehension of emotions, facilitation of emotions, and management of emotions.

Secondary Outcomes:

The program also targets additional outcomes, including: Adaptation to higher education, encompassing social, emotional, study, career, and institutional aspects; Mental health improvement, assessed by reductions in stress, depression, and anxiety; Academic performance, measured by Grade Point Average (GPA) The IESA Program is intended to support students in navigating the personal, social, and academic challenges associated with the transition to higher education.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 178
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Portugal
  • Porto, Portugal, 4200-072
    • Portucalense University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Enrolled in the first year of higher education for the first time
• Aged between 18 and 25 years
• Willing to participate in the study (intervention or control group)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Current psychopathological diagnosis
• High frequency of ongoing psychology sessions
• Significant negative life events within the past two weeks

Additional Notes:

Participants who meet exclusion criteria will still be allowed to attend the IESA Program sessions for ethical reasons. However, their data will be systematically excluded from statistical analyses to ensure data integrity.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: IESA Program Intervention; Participants in this arm receive the IESA Program, a structured group intervention designed for first-year higher education students. Sessions include structured group activities and guided reflection exercises that aim to develop four core emotional abilities: identifying, understanding, using, and managing emotions.	Other: IESA Program; The IESA Program is a structured group intervention designed for first-year higher education students. It is based on the ability-based model of emotional intelligence (Mayer & Salovey, 1997) and focuses on developing four core emotional abilities: identifying, understanding, using, and managing emotions. The program consists of ten weekly sessions, each lasting two hours. Sessions are delivered in a group format and include structured activities, interactive exercises, and guided reflection to engage students in applying emotional intelligence skills in personal, social, and academic contexts. This intervention is distinct from other programs as it specifically targets first-year higher education students during their transition to university, operationalizes the ability-based model of emotional intelligence, and combines skill development with reflective group activities over a fixed ten-week period.
No Intervention: Control Group; Participants in this arm are placed on a waiting list and do not receive the IESA Program during the study period. They continue with their usual educational activities and may participate in the IESA Program after the study ends. No additional interventions are provided during the waiting period.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Trait Meta-Mood Scale-24 (TMMS-24) Attention Subscale Score	Emotional attention will be assessed using the Attention subscale of the Trait Meta-Mood Scale-24 (TMMS-24). The subscale consists of 8 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 ("Strongly disagree") to 5 ("Strongly agree"). Scores range from 8 to 40, with higher scores indicating greater attention to one's emotional states. Very high scores may reflect excessive focus on emotions.	Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately post-intervention (after the 10-week program)
Trait Meta-Mood Scale-24 (TMMS-24) Clarity Subscale Score	Emotional clarity will be assessed using the Clarity subscale of the Trait Meta-Mood Scale-24 (TMMS-24). The subscale consists of 8 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 ("Strongly disagree") to 5 ("Strongly agree"). Scores range from 8 to 40, with higher scores indicating greater understanding of one's emotions.	Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately post-intervention (after the 10-week program).
Trait Meta-Mood Scale-24 (TMMS-24) Emotional Repair Subscale Score	Emotional regulation will be assessed using the Emotional Repair subscale of the Trait Meta-Mood Scale-24 (TMMS-24). The subscale consists of 8 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 ("Strongly disagree") to 5 ("Strongly agree"). Scores range from 8 to 40, with higher scores indicating greater ability to regulate emotional states.	Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately post-intervention (after the 10-week program).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) Depression Subscale Score	Depressive symptoms will be assessed using the Depression subscale of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). The subscale contains 7 items rated on a 4-point Likert scale from 0 ("Did not apply to me at all") to 3 ("Applied to me very much or most of the time"). Scores range from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating greater severity of depressive symptoms.	Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately post-intervention (after the 10-week program).
Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) Anxiety Subscale Score	Anxiety symptoms will be assessed using the Anxiety subscale of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). The subscale contains 7 items rated on a 4-point Likert scale from 0 ("Did not apply to me at all") to 3 ("Applied to me very much or most of the time"). Scores range from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating greater severity of anxiety symptoms.	Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately post-intervention (after the 10-week program).
Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) Stress Subscale Score	Stress symptoms will be assessed using the Stress subscale of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). The subscale contains 7 items rated on a 4-point Likert scale from 0 ("Did not apply to me at all") to 3 ("Applied to me very much or most of the time"). Scores range from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating greater severity of stress symptoms.	Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately post-intervention (after the 10-week program).
Semester Grade Point Average (GPA)	Academic performance will be assessed using students' self-reported semester Grade Point Average (GPA). GPA will be reported according to the institutional grading system. Higher GPA values indicate better academic performance.	Baseline (pre-intervention) and at the end of the semester following the 10-week program.
Higher Education Adaptation Questionnaire (QAES) Total Score	Adaptation to higher education will be assessed using the Higher Education Adaptation Questionnaire (QAES), a 40-item self-report measure assessing academic adaptation, interpersonal adaptation, personal-emotional adaptation, institutional adaptation, career development, and course commitment. Responses are rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 ("Strongly disagree") to 5 ("Strongly agree"). Total scores range from 40 to 200, with higher scores indicating better adaptation to higher education.	Baseline (pre-intervention) and at the end of the semester following the 10-week program.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Portucalense University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Alexandra M. Araújo, PhD, Portucalense University; Principal Investigator: Rosario Cabello, PhD, University of Malaga; Principal Investigator: Fátima M. Teixeira, Master's (Doctoral Student), Portucalense University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 17, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 15, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): October 31, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 8, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 15, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): June 22, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 22, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 15, 2026
• Last Verified: February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: mental health; emotional intelligence; Higher Education; Undergraduate students
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavior; Personal Satisfaction; Psychological Well-Being
• Other Study ID Numbers: https://doi.org/10.54499/2023; 2023.04864.BD (Other Grant/Funding Number: FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, I.P.)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Identified individual participant data will not be shared publicly. The data will be anonymized and analyzed for publication purposes only.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No