The Impact of Psychodrama Intervention on the Empathy, Self-compassion and Psychological Well-Being of University Students

The Impact of Psychodrama Intervention on the Empathy, Self-Compassion and Psychological Well-Being of University Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study is a randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured psychodrama-based intervention on psychological well-being, empathy, self-compassion, and personality-related characteristics among undergraduate nursing students.

The study will be conducted at the Faculty of Nursing, University of Foggia, Italy, with students enrolled in the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences. Participants will be randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group using a computer-generated randomization procedure.

The intervention group will participate in a structured psychodrama program consisting of ten weekly sessions, each lasting approximately two hours. The sessions will be conducted by a certified psychodrama therapist, following a structured framework aimed at enhancing emotional awareness, interpersonal skills, role-taking capacity, and psychological well-being. The control group will not receive any intervention during the study period and will continue with their routine academic activities.

Data will be collected at three time points: baseline (pre-test), post-intervention, and a 2-month follow-up. In the pre-, post-, and follow-up assessments, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), PERMA Profiler, Basic Empathy Scale (BES), Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), Emotional Contagion Scale (ECS), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the HEXACO Personality Inventory will be administered.

The primary aim of the study is to determine whether psychodrama intervention leads to significant improvements in psychological well-being and interpersonal functioning compared to the control group. Secondary outcomes include changes in empathy, self-compassion, emotional contagion, self-esteem, affective states, and personality traits.

This study adopts a mixed factorial design (intervention vs. control × time), allowing for the evaluation of both short-term and sustained effects of the intervention. The findings are expected to contribute to the development of evidence-based educational and psychosocial interventions aimed at supporting the mental health and professional development of nursing students.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Being an undergraduate nursing student enrolled in the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences.
• Providing voluntary informed consent after being informed about the aims and procedures of the study.
• Signing the group contract

Exclusion Criteria:

• Personally knowing the group leader or co-leader.
• Reporting inability to participate in all assessment phases (T1: Pre-test, T2:

Post-test, T3: Follow-up test).

• Self-reporting the use of psychiatric medication or currently receiving clinical psychiatric treatment.
• Indicating that the scheduled session days and times are not suitable (these participants are assigned to the control group after providing informed consent).