Mental wellness is a critical component of healthy development and serves as a way to protect against stress and promote resilience against psychopathology. Emerging adulthood is an important time to foster mental wellness as individuals adjust to changing social roles, such as transitioning to college. Emotion regulation is a key mechanism for effective prevention because of its role in socio-emotional competence and its transdiagnostic significance for psychopathology. In this dissertation study, a brief, time and cost-effective emotion regulation training program for emerging adults (BERT) was developed and tested. Phase 1 focused on program development. Phase 2 utilized the brainwriting premortem method to refine program content. Undergraduate students (n = 12) attended four focus groups presenting initial program content. Four clinicians were also interviewed to determine program barriers. Qualitative analyses aggregated participant feedback to identify compliments, changes, and concerns about BERT in preparation for the pilot, and critical feedback was immediately implemented. In Phase 3, the 5-week program was pilot-tested in a college sample (N = 42) to evaluate Implementation (low attrition, high content engagement, favorable attitudes, low incidence of technical errors, costs), Reach (enrollment and completion demographics comparable to the population in which recruitment took place), and Efficacy (positive change in emotion regulation pre- to post-program). Twenty-seven participants completed at least 80% of program content. Chi-square analyses did not show any significant difference between participants who started the study and those who dropped out. Repeated measures ANOVAs exhibited significant improvements in emotion regulation, psychological distress, anxiety, stress, negative affectivity, and quality of life, suggesting promising initial efficacy. Development of BERT has high potential significance for promoting healthy development because the electronic delivery and brief nature of the program will reduce barriers to adoption and Implementation and the program development process that incorporates stakeholder feedback at multiple levels is expected to improve program Reach and Efficacy. The program development process, which incorporates stakeholder feedback at multiple levels, informs better implementation and dissemination. / Doctor of Philosophy / Mental wellness is important for healthy development and serves as a way to protect against stress and promote resilience against psychological distress. After the teenage years, emerging adulthood is an important time to foster mental wellness as individuals adjust to changing social roles, such as transitioning to college. Emotion regulation, or how one manages or responds to emotions, is important for protecting against negative psychological outcomes while fostering well-being. In this dissertation study, a brief, time and cost-effective emotion regulation training program for emerging adults (BERT) was developed and tested in three phases. Phase 1 focused on program development. Phase 2 utilized focus groups to get program feedback. Participant feedback identified compliments, changes, and concerns about BERT in preparation for the pilot, and critical feedback was immediately implemented. In Phase 3, the 5-week program was pilot-tested in a college sample. Twenty-seven participants completed at least 80% of program content. Significant improvements were found in in emotion regulation, psychological distress, anxiety, stress, negative emotions, and quality of life, suggesting promising initial efficacy. The program development process, which incorporates stakeholder feedback at multiple levels, informs better implementation and dissemination. Development of BERT has high potential significance for promoting healthy development because the electronic delivery and brief nature of the program will reduce barriers to adoption, implementation, and maintenance.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/111317 |
| Date | 21 July 2022 |
| Creators | Gatto, Alyssa Jo |
| Contributors | Psychology, Cooper, Lee D., Dunsmore, Julie C., Harden, Samantha M., Ollendick, Thomas H. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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