The effectiveness of the cognitive-behavioral program in the sense of coherence to reduce Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of the pandemic Covid-19 among international students in Turkey

The purpose of this research is to determine the effectiveness of the Cognitive-Behavioral Program in Sense of Coherence to reduce post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic among international students who are studying in Turkey. In this research, which was carried out using the quasi-experimental model with a pre-test, post-test, and retention test control group, the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) scale was developed by the researcher as a measurement tool. Then, validity and reliability tests of the scale were conducted, and the statistical significance levels between the mean scores of the international students in the experimental and control groups in the post-test and follow-up (retention) tests of the Cognitive-Behavioral Program, which was implemented using this scale and the Sense of Coherence scale developed by Antonovsky in 1987, were examined. Also, the researcher found validity and reliability. On the other hand, Mann-Whitney U and Wilcokson-Z tests were used to analyze the pre test and post-test, with retention test scores of the experimental and control groups. The sample in the scales development and adaptation phase of the research consisted of 609 male and female international students from different countries who voluntarily participated in the research with Google Form by using a simple random sampling method using the snowball sampling technique from the study population of the research. In the experimental application phase, in which this scale PTSD, developed by the researcher and the scale developed by Antonovsky in 1987 SOC and adapted by the researcher were also used, 26 students with high post-traumatic stress levels were selected from these 609 students, mostly from Konya city, by the "snowball sample method", taking into account the dimension of easy accessibility. On the basis of the quasi-experimental research model, 13 students randomly selected from these students constituted the "experimental group" and 13 students constituted the "control group". Based on the scales applied SOC and PTSD, there were significant differences between the mean post-test total scores of the experimental and control groups in favor of the experimental group, and there were no significant differences between the groups in the mean post-test and follow-up (retention) test scores of the students in both scales. As a result, it was determined that the cognitive-behavioral therapy program implemented to reduce post-traumatic stress disorder reduced the levels of post-traumatic stress disorder noted among students during the COVID-19 pandemic process and significantly improved their sense of coherence. Keywords: Cognitive-Behavioral Program, Sense of Coherence, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, COVID-19 Pandemic, International Students.