The Effect of the Psychological Resilience Workshop Implemented After the Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes on University Students' Levels of Psychological Resilience
The Effect of the Psychological Resilience Workshop Implemented After the Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes on University Students' Levels of Psychological Resilience
Earthquakes can have strong emotional effects on people, especially large disasters such as the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes on February 6, 2023. The anniversaries of such events can be difficult times when fear, anxiety, and memories of loss may return. This study aims to increase the psychological resilience and psychological well-being of university students who are beginning their first year.
The target group of this study is students in the foreign language preparatory program, whether they have personally experienced the earthquake or not. The study will examine the effects of a six-week workshop program designed for these students.
The study includes three measurement points: a pre-test, a post-test, and a follow-up test. All students will be invited to complete the initial screening, which will assess their resilience and psychological well-being levels. Students who meet the eligibility criteria will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group (18 students) or the control group (18 students).
Students in the intervention group will participate in the Psychological Resilience Workshop, which takes place once a week for six weeks and lasts about 60-90 minutes per session. The workshop combines a cognitive-behavioral approach with creative emotional expression activities. During the sessions, students will work on understanding themselves, recognizing difficult emotions, identifying their sources of support, and strengthening their psychological resilience. Activities include drawing, storytelling, creative exercises, and group games.
Students in the control group will not receive an intervention but will be provided with information about psychological support services they can access if needed.
The workshop is expected to increase students' psychological resilience and psychological well-being in both the short term and the long term. The results of this study may help develop a practical, sustainable, low-cost mental health support program that can be used with university students.
The earthquakes that occurred on February 6, 2023, in Kahramanmaraş were large-scale disasters that directly or indirectly affected individuals across a wide region. The anniversaries of major traumatic events are known to be periods in which anxiety, mood fluctuations, reactivation of loss-related memories, and emotional sensitivity may intensify. This process can be particularly impactful for university students, who are in a developmental stage that involves significant academic, social, and emotional transitions. Regardless of whether they directly experienced the earthquake, first-year language preparatory students represent a heterogeneous group and may display varying levels of psychological impact.
Psychological resilience refers to the capacity to cope with stress, adversity, or trauma while maintaining functional well-being. Strengthening resilience is known to support emotional regulation, adaptability, and effective coping skills. Previous studies indicate that group-based resilience interventions rooted in cognitive-behavioral principles can be beneficial for young adults.
This study is designed as a randomized controlled experimental trial conducted with students enrolled in the university's foreign language preparatory program. In the initial phase, all preparatory students will be invited to participate in an online screening assessment. Students meeting the inclusion criteria will be randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. Randomization will be stratified according to the province in which students resided during the earthquake period, ensuring balanced representation of those who experienced the earthquake and those who did not, thereby improving comparability between groups.
The intervention group will participate in a six-session "Psychological Resilience Workshop," developed based on cognitive-behavioral principles and enhanced with expressive arts techniques. The sessions focus on themes such as self-perception, goal setting, emotional awareness, interpersonal support resources, coping with loss and adversity, and the development of an individualized resilience framework. The program content has been structured with expert consultation. The control group will not receive any intervention but will be provided with information about available support resources should they experience psychological distress.
The study includes three assessment time points: pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. This structure allows for evaluation of both the short-term and medium-term effects of the intervention. The findings are expected to contribute to the development of an accessible, cost-effective, and evidence-based psychological resilience program suitable for university populations.
Inclusion Criteria:Voluntary participation
Being over 18 years of age and not having a legal guardian
Attending at least 80% of the workshop sessions
Having sufficient reading ability and physical capacity to complete the data collection form independently -
Exclusion Criteria:Presence of cognitive impairments that prevent completion of the data collection forms (e.g., difficulties in comprehension, speech, reasoning, or decision-making)
Receiving professional psychological support that could affect resilience or well-being during the data collection period
Being officially enrolled in the academic term but not actively attending in-person education
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