Examining the Effectiveness of a Short-Term Solution-Focused Wellness Group Intervention on Perceived Stress and Wellness Among College Students (WITHDRAWN)

Background:

Heightened stress levels and compromised well-being are common among college students (Kausar, 2010).  Current trends on college campuses include an increase in the number of students that are experiencing mental health challenges, and an increase in students seeking help. (Watkins, Hunt, & Eisenberg, 2011). Based on these trends, recommendations include implementing alternative strategies such as group therapy and self-help programs designed to reduce stress and improve wellness.The purpose of this research study was to examine the effectiveness of a short-term solution-focused intervention on perceptions of wellness and stress among the college student population. 

Methods:

The brief (seven-week) intervention utilized a solution-focused approach, and was compared with a randomly assigned control group.  Intervention sessions were 60 minutes in duration and met weekly at an established time and location.  Data for 47 participants were analyzed (intervention = 25, control=22). Between-group comparisons of experimental and control groups, were examined across multiple assessment points.  Measures included the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, Karmack, & Mermelstein, 1983) and the Five Factor Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle (Myers & Sweeney, 1999). The primary analysis included a repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Results:

A RM-ANOVA was conducted to assess for between group differences across pre- and post-intervention assessment points for outcome variables: perceived wellness and perceived stress.  Wellness results demonstrated that the difference between the intervention group (baseline M = 75.66, SD = 5.59; seven weeks M = 80.55, SD = 6.08) and the control group (baseline M = 73.04, SD = 8.72; seven weeks M = 73.38, SD = 8.05) was significant over time.  The partial eta statistic for the main effect of group was moderate to large (np2 = .108), while the effect of time (np2 =.354) had a large effect size.  Similarly, the effect size for interaction of time and group was large (np2 = .366).  For perceived stress, results demonstrated significant differences between the intervention group (baseline M = 21.03, SD = 5.63; seven weeks M = 15.12, SD = 5.17) and control group (baseline M = 21.23, SD = 6.16; seven weeks M = 20.00, SD = 6.16) across the two time points. For stress the partial eta statistic for the main effect of group was small to moderate (np2 = .044), and not significant.  However, effect sizes for time (np2 =.489), and the interaction of time and group were both large (np2 = .310).

Implications:

Outcomes demonstrate that the solution-focused wellness intervention had positive effects on perceptions of wellness and stress.  Given the challenges associated with college student wellness and the impact of lifestyle habits and unhealthy behaviors, improving wellness is critical to current and future health, as well as academic success of this population. The effectiveness of a solution-focused wellness intervention administered in a brief format allows for implementation in multiple contexts.  A brief, solution-focused wellness model provides an option for improving wellness and decreasing stress that can be employed multiple times per semester, and the replicability of the model allows for implementation in a variety of contexts.