Randomized Trial of Web-Based Stress Management Interventions for Community College Students

ABSTRACT

Community college students may experience more severe psychological concerns than traditional university students and have fewer institutional mental health resources available. This replication study examined the efficacy of three versions of a brief, structured web-based stress management program with community college students. The program focuses on improving perceptions of control over stressors, based on research suggesting that focusing on what you can control in the present (i.e., present control) is associated with less distress and better adjustment. Participants (N = 213 community college students) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: present control intervention (PCI), PCI with enhanced stress logs (E-PCI) or PCI with mindfulness training (PCI + MF). They completed web-based, self-report measures at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 3-week follow-up. Participants in all three intervention conditions demonstrated reductions in perceived stress and distress symptoms from pre-intervention to post-intervention and 3-week follow-up. In the PC+ MF group, the mean-within group effect size was d = −0.46, which was slightly larger than the PCI group (d = −0.36) and E-PCI group (d = −0.41). This study replicated that present control interventions are effective in a community college sample. Community college students may benefit from web-based interventions designed to increase present control.

KEYWORDS:

• Community college students
• stress management
• online interventions

Notes

1. The original article reported effect sizes separately for those with and without a history of interpersonal violence and not the effect sizes for the whole sample reported here.

2. Multiple imputation was conducted in the intent to treat (ITT) sample (those who completed the pre-intervention survey). Five multiple imputations were run and results in all five samples were consistent with each other and with the findings from the completer sample.