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
Conditions
Intervention / Treatment
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
Enrollment (Actual)
Phase
- Not Applicable
Contacts and Locations
Study Locations
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Porto, Portugal, 4200-072
- Portucalense University
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Participation Criteria
Eligibility Criteria
Ages Eligible for Study
- Adult
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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)
Arms and Interventions
Participant Group / Arm |
Intervention / Treatment |
|---|---|
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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. |
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. |
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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.
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What is the study measuring?
Primary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
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Trait Meta-Mood Scale-24 (TMMS-24) Attention Subscale Score
Time Frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately post-intervention (after the 10-week program)
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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.
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Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately post-intervention (after the 10-week program)
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Trait Meta-Mood Scale-24 (TMMS-24) Clarity Subscale Score
Time Frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately post-intervention (after the 10-week program).
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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.
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Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately post-intervention (after the 10-week program).
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Trait Meta-Mood Scale-24 (TMMS-24) Emotional Repair Subscale Score
Time Frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately post-intervention (after the 10-week program).
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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.
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Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately post-intervention (after the 10-week program).
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Secondary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
|
Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) Depression Subscale Score
Time Frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately post-intervention (after the 10-week program).
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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.
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Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately post-intervention (after the 10-week program).
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Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) Anxiety Subscale Score
Time Frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately post-intervention (after the 10-week program).
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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.
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Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately post-intervention (after the 10-week program).
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Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) Stress Subscale Score
Time Frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately post-intervention (after the 10-week program).
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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.
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Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately post-intervention (after the 10-week program).
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Semester Grade Point Average (GPA)
Time Frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and at the end of the semester following the 10-week program.
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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.
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Baseline (pre-intervention) and at the end of the semester following the 10-week program.
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Higher Education Adaptation Questionnaire (QAES) Total Score
Time Frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and at the end of the semester following the 10-week program.
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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.
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Baseline (pre-intervention) and at the end of the semester following the 10-week program.
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Collaborators and Investigators
Sponsor
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)
Primary Completion (Actual)
Study Completion (Actual)
Study Registration Dates
First Submitted
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
First Posted (Actual)
Study Record Updates
Last Update Posted (Actual)
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
Last Verified
More Information
Terms related to this study
Additional Relevant MeSH Terms
Other Study ID Numbers
- https://doi.org/10.54499/2023 (Other Identifier: Foundation for Science and Technology)
- 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)?
IPD Plan Description
Drug and device information, study documents
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product
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