Creative Drama on Gender Role Stress, Attitudes Toward Violence Against Women, and Aggression

Overview

This study aims to examine the effect of Creative Drama on gender role stress, attitudes toward violence against women, and aggression among men who experienced the February 6, 2023 earthquake in Türkiye (centered in Kahramanmaraş). A total of 75 men (25 experimental, 25 placebo, and 25 control) will participate in the study. The experimental group will take part in a creative drama program, the placebo group will watch films focusing on masculinity roles and violence for 10 weeks, and no intervention will be applied to the control group. Data will be collected using the Gender Role Stress Scale for Men, the Attitudes Toward Violence Against Women Scale, and the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire - Short Form, and will be analyzed by an independent statistician. The study aims to enhance the psychological well-being of men affected by the earthquake in Türkiye, reduce violence against women, and contribute to gender equality.

According to official reports, two major earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.7 and 7.6 occurred in Türkiye on February 6, 2023, affecting 11 provinces. The provinces of Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Adıyaman, and Malatya were among the most severely impacted areas. This study will be conducted as a randomized controlled experimental research to determine the effect of Creative Drama on gender role stress, attitudes toward violence against women, and aggressive behaviors among men who experienced the earthquake. The research will take place in Malatya between November 2025 and December 2026. The study population will consist of men who experienced the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquake on February 6, 2023, and are still residing in Malatya. The sample will include participants reached through social media platforms who meet the inclusion criteria. The data will be collected using the Participant Information Form, the Gender Role Stress Scale for Men, the Attitudes Toward Violence Against Women Scale, and the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire - Short Form. A G\*Power analysis was performed to determine the sample size. Assuming a large effect size (0.80), a significance level of 0.05, and a power of 90%, it was calculated that each group should include 22 participants. Considering potential dropouts or exclusions, three additional participants per group will be added, resulting in a total of 75 participants (25 in the experimental group, 25 in the placebo group, and 25 in the control group). Inclusion Criteria Participants must: Be male and volunteer to participate in the study, Have been in Malatya during the earthquake and still reside there, Be married during and after the earthquake, Have no hearing or visual impairment, Have no intellectual disability, Have at least a primary school education, Have no psychiatric diagnosis, Not have received creative drama training, Not have received psychosocial support after the earthquake, Not have participated in any study using creative drama related to gender role stress, violence against women, or aggression, Confirm their willingness to attend weekly sessions and comply with the program schedule. Exclusion Criteria Participants will be excluded if they: Voluntarily withdraw from the study, Fail to attend sessions regularly, Move to another city during the study period, Divorce during the study, Begin receiving psychosocial support during the study period. Randomization The names and contact details of eligible participants will be listed. The simple randomization method will be used to ensure equal group sizes. Using the website https://www.randomizer.org/ , random numbers from 1 to 75 will be generated and divided into three groups. Three folded papers labeled with the group names will be prepared, and an independent person will randomly draw them. According to the draw, each set of 25 participants will be assigned to the corresponding group - experimental, placebo, or control - based on their position in the randomized list. Blinding Due to the nature of the intervention, neither the researcher nor the participants will be blinded. After completion of the study, the data from the experimental, placebo, and control groups (coded as X, Y, and Z) will be entered into a database and analyzed by an independent statistician. Therefore, the study will be conducted as a single-blind design. Groups and Interventions Experimental Group: Participants will attend 10 sessions of Creative Drama, held once per week. Placebo Group: Participants will watch 10 Turkish films over 10 weeks (one per week) featuring themes related to masculinity roles, attitudes toward violence against women, and aggression. Control Group: No intervention will be applied to the participants in the control group after randomization.