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

NCT07500584 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: code number 017/CEpsi2024
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 40
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

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.

Conditions

Nursing Students; Therapy; Nursing Education; Self Esteem; Well Being; Empathy; Self Compassion

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (7)

• Emotional Contagion Scale (ECS)

  The Emotional Contagion Scale (ECS) measures the extent to which individuals are susceptible to others' emotions. It assesses emotional responsiveness and the tendency to "catch" others' emotional states.

  pre-test, post-test (10 weeks after pre-test-immediately after the intervention), and after 2 months (follow-up test)

• Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS)

  The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) is used to assess individuals' levels of positive (e.g., enthusiasm, alertness) and negative (e.g., distress, irritability) affect. It provides a measure of emotional well-being and allows for the evaluation of changes in affective states over time.

  pre-test, post-test (10 weeks after pre-test-immediately after the intervention), and after 2 months (follow-up test)

• Self-Compassion Scale (SCS)

  The Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) is used to evaluate individuals' level of self compassion. It includes components such as self-kindness, self-judgment, common humanity, and mindfulness.

  pre-test, post-test (10 weeks after pre-test-immediately after the intervention), and after 2 months (follow-up test)

• Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale

  The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale is employed to measure global self-esteem. It assesses individuals' overall evaluation of their self-worth, including both positive and negative self-perceptions.

  pre-test, post-test (10 weeks after pre-test-immediately after the intervention), and after 2 months (follow-up test)

• PERMA Profiler

  The PERMA Profiler is utilized to evaluate psychological well-being within the framework of positive psychology. It measures five core dimensions: Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment.

  pre-test, post-test (10 weeks after pre-test-immediately after the intervention), and after 2 months (follow-up test)

• Basic Empathy Scale (BES)

  The Basic Empathy Scale (BES) is used to assess individuals' empathy levels. It evaluates both cognitive empathy (the ability to understand others' emotions) and affective empathy (the ability to share others' emotional experiences).

  pre-test, post-test (10 weeks after pre-test-immediately after the intervention), and after 2 months (follow-up test)

• HEXACO Personality Inventory

  The HEXACO Personality Inventory is used to assess personality traits based on a six-factor model: Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience.

  pre-test, post-test (10 weeks after pre-test-immediately after the intervention), and after 2 months (follow-up test)

Study Arms (2)

Intervention group

EXPERIMENTAL

The experimental group comprises 20 students who attend 10 weekly psychodrama sessions, each lasting approximately 120-150 minutes. The sessions are conducted by a certified psychodramatist under the supervision of an accredited trainer. Outcome measures are administered at baseline (pre-test), immediately post-intervention, and at 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), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Self- Compassion Scale (SCS), Emotional Contagion Scale (ECS), and the HEXACO Personality Inventory are used.

Behavioral: Intervention

Control group

NO INTERVENTION

The control group comprises 20 students and does not receive any intervention during the study period. Outcome measures are administered at the same time points as in the experimental group, including baseline (pre-test), post-test, 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), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), Emotional Contagion Scale (ECS), and the HEXACO Personality Inventory are used.

Interventions

Intervention BEHAVIORAL

The intervention consisted of a structured, manualized psychodrama program delivered in a group format. The program included 10 weekly sessions, each lasting approximately 120-150 minutes. Sessions were facilitated by a certified psychodramatist under the supervision of an accredited psychodrama trainer. The intervention incorporated core psychodrama techniques such as role-playing, role reversal, mirroring, doubling, and enactment to enhance emotional expression, empathy, and self-awareness. The program followed a standardized session structure including warm-up, action, and sharing phases, ensuring consistency across sessions.

Intervention group

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• 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

You may not qualify if:

• 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).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Ministry of Health, Turkey: lead

Study Sites (1)

Erenköy Mental and Nervous Diseases Training and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul, Ümraniye, 34760, Turkey (Türkiye)

Location

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Methods

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Investigative Techniques

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: Due to the nature of the psychodrama intervention, blinding of participants and researchers was not feasible. However, outcome assessment and statistical analyses were conducted by an independent assessor who was blinded to group allocation. Data were coded prior to analysis to ensure that the assessor remained unaware of participants' group assignments, there by minimizing potential assessment bias.
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER GOV
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: PhD, Nurse

Model Details: This study is designed as a randomized, parallel-group controlled trial. Participants will be randomly allocated to either the psychodrama intervention group or a no-intervention control group. The intervention consists of 10 structured psychodrama sessions delivered twice weekly. Outcome assessments will be conducted at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and at a 2-month follow-up.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 19, 2026
• First Posted: March 30, 2026
• Study Start: March 20, 2024
• Primary Completion: May 20, 2024
• Study Completion: June 20, 2024
• Last Updated: April 2, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

TU (1)