Evaluating the online Resilience Skills Enhancement programme among undergraduate students: A double-blind parallel randomized controlled trial.

Resilience training has beneficial effects on the ability of undergraduate students to withstand adversity and stress. However, there are inconsistencies in the content and delivery approaches for resilience training. Given the increasing shifts towards computer-assisted instruction, there is a need to develop and evaluate innovative approaches for resilience training. This study aimed to examine the efficacy of two versions of the Resilience Skills Enhancement (RISE) programme. A randomized controlled trial was used to evaluate the effects of blended learning (BL) and a self-guided RISE programme on the resilience, social support, and learning outcomes of undergraduate students. One hundred and fourteen students were recruited and randomly allocated to receive either BL or the self-guided RISE programme. The within-group analyses indicated significant improvements in resilience scores for the BL (F = 37.74, p < 0.001) and self-guided groups (F = 10.16, p < 0.001) with moderate (d = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.25, 1.00) to large effect sizes (d = 1.11, 95% CI: 0.71, 1.50) respectively. There were also significant differences across the three time points for social support scores for the BL (F = 4.50, p < 0.05) and self-guided groups (F = 4.59, p < 0.05). Students in the BL group had considerable improvements in self-efficacy of learning and performance (F = 5.42, p < 0.01) and meta-cognitive self-regulation scores (F = 5.91, p < 0.01). In the between-group analyses, both BL and self-guided RISE were comparable for resilience, social support, and learning scores (p > 0.05). The study provided preliminary evidence that both modes, BL and self-guided RISE programme lead to positive effects on the resilience, social support, and learning scores of students.

Resilience for Undergraduate Students: Development and Evaluation of a Theory-Driven, Evidence-Based and Learner Centered Digital Resilience Skills Enhancement (RISE) Program.

Protective factors that build students' resilience are known. A six-week digital resilience training program was developed on the basis of theory, evidence, and contextual information. The feasibility study sought to evaluate the acceptability, appropriateness, demand, implementation, and limited efficacy of a digital resilience skills enhancement program for undergraduate students. A single group, pre-test, post-test, concurrent mixed methods design among 10 undergraduate students was conducted in one university in Singapore. The content analysis concluded that students accepted and perceived the digital resilience skills enhancement program as appropriate. Students also proposed several improvements, such as the initiation of the program and revisions to the content. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test found significant improvements in resilience (p = 0.02) and meta-cognitive self-regulation (p = 0.01) scores with medium (d = 0.79, 95% CI: -0.15 to 1.74) and very large effect sizes (d = 1.31, 95% CI: 0.30-2.33), respectively. Students found the digital resilience program appropriate and were able to apply their newly acquired skills to promote their resilience and learning. Although, several improvements are proposed to enhance the rigor of the digital resilience program, the findings of this study suggests that digital resilience programs are important for students' well-being.