Effect of the well-star psycho-education program on wellness and psychological symptoms

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of The Well-Star Psycho-Education Program (WS-PEP), a 10 session program was developed as part of this study, on the wellness (overall, physical, emotional, social, cognitive, making sense of life and target-oriented wellness) and the levels of psychological symptoms of university students. For this purpose, an experimental design of 3x3 consisting of 3 measurement points (pre-test, post-test and follow-up) and 3 groups, (experimental, placebo, and control) was utilized. The study started out with 12 students in each of the three groups but was completed with 31 students as a result of drop out, with 11 students (6 female, 5 male) remaining in the experimental group, 9 students (5 female, 4 male) remaining in the placebo group, and 11 students (5 female, 6 male) remaining in the control group. Data was collected through the Well-Star Scale, Brief Symptom Inventory, and the personal demographics form. Qualitative data was also collected through the use of focus group interviews as part of this study. Quantitative findings of the study indicated that WS-PEP did not have a significant effect on increasing the wellness levels of study participants. On the other hand, qualitative data gathered during the focus group meeting that was conducted after the follow-up measurements with the participation of the six members of the experimental group indicated that participants stated they had acquired new skills in the areas including recognizing, expressing and controlling emotions, becoming empathetic, improving relationships with friends, engaging in intellectually stimulating activities, becoming aware of weaknesses and strengths, habits of healthy eating, sleeping, and exercising. Besides, the information acquired from the wellness stars where students had rated their wellness levels pointed that WS-PEP was effective in improving participant wellness. Also, according to quantitative results, it was found that WS-PEP was effective in decreasing the participants' psychological symptoms, an effect that was found to have continued at the follow-up. Keywords: Wellness, Psychological symptoms, Psycho-education, The well-star model of wellness.