Improving Emotional Wellbeing of University Students: Emotion Regulation

NCT07096141 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 20022
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 40
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

University students' psychological well-being is a growing public health concern. University life involves major psychological, social, and academic changes, increasing vulnerability to mental health issues. Group-based Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) has been shown to support student well-being effectively. However, interventions tailored to specific cultural and contextual needs are more likely to be helpful. Western-based therapy models may not fully align with non-Western populations, such as students in Türkiye. In Türkiye, public mental health services are often limited to short psychiatric consultations, while therapy is typically accessed privately. University counselling centres offering free or low-cost therapy are therefore essential. Cost-effective interventions like group DBT may be especially valuable in these settings. To address this gap, culturally adapted DBT groups should be developed and evaluated for Turkish university students. This study is part of the UniWELL Project (sister to UniWELL-C) and examines the effectiveness of DBT-informed emotion regulation groups for Turkish students. Any Bogazici University student aged 18+ is eligible. Exclusion criteria include severe mental illness, high risk of harm to self/others, or scoring below threshold on the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16), as these students may require more individual support. The study includes participation in an 8-session DBT-informed group. Participants are expected to benefit from free psychological support, guided reflection, and shared experiences with peers. The research will also contribute to the evidence base for culturally adapted interventions. There are some risks: participants may feel overwhelmed during the sessions or while completing questionnaires. If so, support will be provided by a clinical psychology master's student and/or the group facilitator, under supervision of an experienced clinical psychologist. If a participant's risk increases, they will be referred to psychiatric services. An emergency contact will be requested to ensure safety if needed. The study will take place at Bogazici University through the Translational Clinical Psychology Lab, in collaboration with BUREM. It is expected to run for at least one year, possibly extending up to three years. The study is partially funded by the Bogazici Scientific Research Projects Unit (20022). Dr Ayse Akan (t-clinpsylab@bogazici.edu.tr) is the study lead and main contact.

Conditions

Emotion Regulation

Keywords

emotion regulation; mental health; DBT; group therapy; university student mental health; culturally adapted psychotherapy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16)

  Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16) is a questionnaire that measures different aspects of difficulties in emotion, including emotional awareness, clarity, acceptance, impulse control, and goal-directed behavior during emotional distress. Each item is scored on a 5-point Likert scale, from 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always), resulting in a total score range of 16 to 80. Higher scores indicate greater difficulties in emotion regulation.

  Baseline, immediately after the intervention, and follow-up 6 weeks after the completion intervention

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• Borderline Evaluation of Severity Over Times (BEST)

  Baseline, immediately after the intervention, and follow-up 6 weeks after the completion intervention

• Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-42)

  Baseline, immediately after the intervention, and follow-up 6 weeks after the completion of the intervention

• Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD7)

  Baseline, immediately after the intervention, and follow-up 6 weeks after the completion of the intervention

• Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ9)

  Baseline, immediately after the intervention, and follow-up 6 weeks after the completion of the intervention

• Outcome Rating Scale (ORS)

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks

Other Outcomes (2)

• Group Session Rating Scale (GSRS)

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks

• Feedback Form

  Immediately after the intervention

Study Arms (2)

DBT Experimental Arm

EXPERIMENTAL

An 8-session Dialectical Behaviour Therapy informed emotional regulation group psychotherapy will be offered to the experimental group of about 40 university students who volunteered and scored above the threshold on the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16).

Behavioral: DBT-informed Group Psychotherapy for Emotion Regulation

DBT Waitlist Arm

NO INTERVENTION

DBT waitlist control

Interventions

DBT-informed Group Psychotherapy for Emotion Regulation BEHAVIORAL

An 8-session Dialectical Behaviour Therapy informed emotion regulation psychotherapy group.

Also known as: DBT, Group DBT

DBT Experimental Arm

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Must be a Bogazici University student.
• Must be 18 years or older.
• Must score above the threshold on the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16).

You may not qualify if:

• Not Bogazici University student.
• Has serious and severe mental illness.
• High risk of self-harm/harm to others.
• Scoring below the threshold of on the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16).
• Younger than 18 years old.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Bogazici University: lead

Study Sites (2)

Bogazici University Student Guidance and Psychological Counselling Centre (BUREM)

Istanbul, 34342, Turkey (Türkiye)

RECRUITING

Translational Clinical Psychology Lab

Istanbul, 34342, Turkey (Türkiye)

RECRUITING

Related Publications (1)

• Akan A, Korkut NH. Improving the emotional wellbeing of university students through culturally adapted cognitive and dialectical behavioral group interventions: protocol for two parallel feasibility and effectiveness studies. Transl Behav Med. 2026 Jan 7;16(1):ibag010. doi: 10.1093/tbm/ibag010.

  PMID: 41873829 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Emotional Regulation; Psychological Well-Being

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Self-Control; Social Behavior; Behavior; Personal Satisfaction

Study Officials

• Ayse Akan, DClinPsych

  Bogazici University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Ayse Akan, DClinPsych

CONTACT

+902123597054; ayse.akan@bogazici.edu.tr

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor and Clinical Psychologist

Model Details: Single-centre interventional non-blinded mixed-methods non-randomised pre-post design with a waitlist control and 6 weeks follow-up feasibility and psychotherapy effectiveness study.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 14, 2025
• First Posted: July 31, 2025
• Study Start: March 5, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 3, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2027
• Last Updated: December 22, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Time Frame: The data supporting this study's findings will be available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, starting immediately after publication. Data will be maintained and available for 10 years after the last data collection.
• Access Criteria: Being a peer-reviewer / researcher.

Locations

TU (2)