Evaluating a Brief Classroom-Based Intervention to Improve Emotion Regulation, Reduce Stress, Promote Social Connection, and Lower Risk Behaviors in First-Year College Students
Zoom
Elizabeth Richardson
5089515403
erichardson@umassd.edu
https://umassd.zoom.us/j/6152646048?pwd=M2NWZHFJQlFjZDU2V25lRWVjU0tDZz09
College students often experience high levels of stress during the transition to higher education, which can undermine emotion regulation and contribute to maladaptive coping. Prevention-focused programs offer a means of supporting students, yet few interventions integrate emotion regulation, mindfulness, and social connection skills into existing classroom settings. This study evaluates a five-session classroom intervention delivered within a first year seminar (CAS 103/104) aiming to strengthen emotion regulation, reduce perceived stress, and decrease risk behaviors. Students were assigned to intervention or control conditions and completed surveys at baseline, posttest, and four-week follow-up. Correlations, analyses of covariance, mediation analyses, and additional exploratory analyses were conducted. Students in the intervention condition reported significantly higher perceived social support at posttest compared to students in the control condition. Although differences in emotion regulation, perceived stress, and risk behaviors were not statistically significant, intervention participants demonstrated improvements in the expected direction on several outcomes. This study contributes to the existing body of research by implementing an evidence-based program directly within the classroom setting. Findings support the feasibility of classroom-based mental health promotion programs and highlight social connection as a particularly promising target during the college transition.
Committee: Elizabeth Richardson, PhD (Chair); Robin Locke Arkerson, PhD; Mary Kayyal, PhD