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

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

36

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 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

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
Intervention / Treatment
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

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

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)

February 24, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 12, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

May 12, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 31, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 31, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 3, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 3, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 31, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID 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.

Subscribe