This study aims to examine the effectiveness of the Social and Emotional Developmental Support Program on adolescents' sense of belonging, meaning in life, emotional authenticity, well-being, and resilience. The study will be conducted with 9th-grade students studying in Defne district of Hatay, Türkiye, one of the regions affected by the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquake that occurred on February 6, 2023. A pre-test/post-test control group experimental design will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.
This study aims to examine the effects of the Social and Emotional Developmental Support Program, which will be implemented with ninth-grade students studying in the Defne district of Hatay, on adolescents' sense of belonging, meaning in life, emotional authenticity, well-being, and resilience. The research will be carried out with adolescents living in Defne, one of the districts of Hatay most affected by the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquake that occurred in Türkiye on February 6, 2023. The study is designed as a pre-test/post-test control group experimental design. Participants will be randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group will receive the Social and Emotional Developmental Support Program, whereas no intervention will be provided to the control group during the study period. Data will be collected using a demographic information form and standardized instruments assessing adolescents' sense of belonging, meaning in life, emotional authenticity, well-being, and resilience. The findings are expected to contribute to the social and emotional development of adolescents affected by the earthquake and to enrich the existing body of literature.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
60
A structured program designed to promote adolescents' social and emotional development. The program includes interactive sessions aimed at enhancing belonging, meaning in life, emotional authenticity, well-being, and resilience. It will be implemented in a school setting through group-based activities and reflective discussions.
Defne Public High Schools
Hatay, Defne, Turkey (Türkiye)
The General Belongingness Scale
Participants' sense of belonging will be assessed using the General Belongingness Scale. The General Belongingness Scale is answered on a four-point Likert scale with the options "(1) Strongly disagree, (2) Somewhat disagree, (3) Mostly agree, (4) Strongly agree." Six items represent the rejection/exclusion dimension, while the remaining six items reflect the acceptance/inclusion dimension. When all 12 items are evaluated together, a total belongingness score is obtained. In this context, higher total scores indicate higher levels of general belongingness among adolescents.
Time frame: Baseline (pre-test) and after completion of the intervention (approximately 11 weeks).
Meaning in Life Questionnaire
Participants' perceived meaning in life will be assessed using the Meaning in Life Questionnaire. Higher scores on the Presence of Meaning subscale indicate that individuals perceive their lives as more meaningful and purposeful, whereas higher scores on the Search for Meaning subscale reflect greater efforts to find or develop meaning in life. When calculating the total score by reverse-coding the Search subscale, a higher overall score signifies a stronger sense of meaning in life.
Time frame: Baseline (pre-test) and after completion of the intervention (approximately 11 weeks).
Emotional Authenticity Scale
Participants' emotional authenticity will be measured using the Emotional Authenticity Scale. The Emotional Authenticity Scale is a 20-item self-report measure assessing the extent to which individuals express their emotions in a genuine, coherent, and self-consistent manner. Items are rated on a 1-5 Likert scale. Five items from the "Acceptance of External Influence" subscale and seven items from the "Emotional Avoidance" subscale are reverse-scored. Higher total scores indicate greater emotional authenticity.
Time frame: Baseline (pre-test) and after completion of the intervention (approximately 11 weeks).
EPOCH Well-being Scale
Participants' well-being levels will be assessed using the EPOCH Well-Being Measure. The scale consists of five subscales and a total of 20 items. Higher scores on each subscale indicate a greater level of the specific characteristic assessed by that dimension. In addition, the scale provides an overall well-being score. During scoring, mean scores are calculated for each subscale as well as for the total scale.
Time frame: Baseline (pre-test) and after completion of the intervention (approximately 11 weeks).
Psychological Resilience Attitude and Skills Scale
Participants' resilience levels will be measured using the Resilience Attitude and Skill Scale. It is a 34-item, single-factor measurement tool rated on a four-point Likert scale. There are no reverse-scored items in the scale. Higher scores indicate higher levels of psychological resilience.
Time frame: Baseline (pre-test) and after completion of the intervention (approximately 11 weeks).
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