Evaluation of an implementation intentions intervention for managing university student stress.
Stress Health
; 2023 Sep 19.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37724051
ABSTRACT
University students consistently report high levels of stress, which has been associated with a range of adverse outcomes. Promoting adaptive coping behaviours, such as problem-focused coping for managing university stress, is therefore a timely area of investigation. Current coping intervention approaches target reasoned cognitive processes; however, recent research has suggested that automatic processes are more strongly associated with problem-focused coping behaviour. The current study examined the effect of an implementation intentions intervention, a technique that can support behaviour to be performed automatically by facilitating continued repetition of a plan, on problem-focused coping behaviour under stress and stress-related outcomes. Following a pilot study (N = 21), a preregistered randomized controlled trial was conducted with university students (N = 154) using an online survey. Participants completed baseline measures of problem-focused coping behaviour, behavioural automaticity, behavioural intentions, action planning, perceived stress, procrastination, and psychological wellbeing; before receiving the intervention or control condition stimuli, and then at a 2-week follow-up. Behavioural intention and action planning were also measured immediately post-intervention. The intervention had a significant medium-sized effect on action planning for problem-focused coping, but no other significant effects were detected. Exploratory assessment of plan quality revealed medium-sized correlations between plan quality and changes in problem-focused coping behaviour. Findings indicate that implementation intentions may be a promising approach for increasing planning for the use of problem-focused coping. Indicators of plan quality found to be associated with changes in problem-focused coping provide valuable avenues for intervention optimisation in future research.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Stress Health
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Austrália