The Effect of a Stress Coping Training Program for University Students on Cognitive Flexibility, Perceived Stress, Psychological Resilience, and Burnout

This randomized controlled study investigates the effectiveness of a structured stress coping training program on perceived stress, cognitive flexibility, psychological resilience, and burnout among university students. University students are frequently exposed to academic demands, performance pressure, time constraints, and role-related challenges, which may negatively affect their psychological well-being. Structured psychoeducational interventions aimed at enhancing adaptive coping strategies may contribute to improved emotional regulation, cognitive adaptability, and overall resilience. Within this context, the present study evaluates the impact of a 12-week stress coping program grounded in cognitive-behavioral and skills-based approaches.

The research is conducted at the Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Hacettepe University, and the Department of Occupational Therapy, Gülhane Faculty of Health Sciences. A total of 64 healthy university students aged between 18 and 25 years who meet the inclusion criteria participate in the study. Participants are assigned to either an experimental group (n=32) or a control group (n=32). The experimental group receives a structured stress coping training program consisting of weekly one-hour sessions over 12 weeks, delivered by an expert academician in the field. The program includes modules on stress awareness, identification of stressors, stages of stress, personality characteristics and stress, physiological and psychological responses to stress, breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, time management, problem-solving strategies, cognitive restructuring techniques, mental regulation methods, and relapse prevention. The control group does not receive the intervention during the study period but completes the same assessment procedures.

Data are collected face-to-face before and after the intervention using a Demographic Information Form, the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory, the Perceived Stress Scale-10, the Resilience Scale for Adults, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Form. Descriptive statistics summarize participant characteristics. Normality of the data is examined using skewness-kurtosis values, Shapiro-Wilk tests, and histogram distributions. Between-group and within-group comparisons are analyzed using appropriate parametric or non-parametric statistical tests. Effect sizes are calculated using Cohen's d, and statistical significance is set at p < 0.05.

This study contributes empirical evidence regarding the role of structured stress coping interventions in enhancing adaptive psychological processes among university students. The findings provide implications for preventive mental health strategies and support the integration of structured stress management programs into higher education settings.