Effects of Character Strength-Based Intervention vs Group Counseling on Post-Traumatic Growth, Well-Being, and Depression Among University Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Guangdong, China: A Non-Inferiority Trial

Yulan Yu; Rassamee Chotipanvithayakul; Wit Wichaidit; Wei Cai

doi:10.2147/PRBM.S359073

Effects of Character Strength-Based Intervention vs Group Counseling on Post-Traumatic Growth, Well-Being, and Depression Among University Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Guangdong, China: A Non-Inferiority Trial

Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2022 Jun 16:15:1517-1529. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S359073. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Yulan Yu^{1

2}, Rassamee Chotipanvithayakul^{2

3}, Wit Wichaidit², Wei Cai¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology/ Research Center for Quality of Life and Applied Psychology, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, People's Republic of China.
² Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Thailand.
³ Research Center for Child and Youth Development, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Thailand.

Abstract

Purpose: This study assessed the effects of character strengths-based invention (CSI) vs group counseling (GC) on mental health outcomes (ie, post-traumatic growth, well-being, and depression) among university students in Guangdong Province, China.

Materials and methods: We conducted a randomized non-inferiority trial among 124 undergraduates at a medical university during the COVID-19 pandemic. We randomly allocated students to receive either CSI (n=62) or GC (n=62). A qualified psychologist delivered both activities on campus during two consecutive weekends with a total of 7.5 hours and also gave assignments to students during weekdays. We measured the outcomes at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up. We then analyzed data using descriptive statistics and a general linear mixed model.

Results: CSI and GC groups had similar baseline characteristics. Both CSI and GC experienced an increase in post-traumatic growth and well-being. The mean±SD scores for post-traumatic growth were significantly higher in CSI compared to GC groups (87.70±14.22 vs 78.15±20.72, respectively), whereas well-being scores were similar between CSI and GC (82.58±16.57 vs 83.68±15.59, respectively). Neither CSI nor GC experienced a reduction in depression scores.

Conclusion: CSI had non-inferior effects compared to GC with regards to improvement of post-traumatic growth and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, caveats regarding lack of blinding of investigator and limited generalizability should be considered in the interpretation of the study findings.

Keywords: character strength-based intervention; depression; post-traumatic growth; university student; well-being.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the foundation of the 13th Five-Year Plan of Education Science of Guangdong Province (Moral Education Special Project), Grant No. 2020JKDY030.