Maddah Diana, Saab Youssra, Safadi Hani, Abi Farraj Nermine, Hassan Zeinab, Turner Sophia, Echeverri Lina, Alami Nael H, Kababian-Khasholian Tamar, Salameh Pascale
Lebanese University, Lebanon.
SAWA for Development and Aid, Lebanon.
Health Psychol Open. 2021 Jun 16;8(1):20551029211016955. doi: 10.1177/20551029211016955. eCollection 2021 Jan-Jun.
Although Life Skills programs showed to improve the psychological and physical wellbeing of individuals, little attention has been paid, worldwide and in the Arab countries in specific to implementing life skills intervention for university students. In this study, we tested the effectiveness of a life skills based health promotion intervention KHOTWA (STEP) in enhancing the wellbeing of university students in Lebanon, a country that faces economic and political instability. This is a quasi-experimental study, with pre and post-test, intervention-control design. Each group was formed of 78 participants studying in a private university in Lebanon. Mixed design was used to address the process and outcomes objectives of the intervention. The program was carried online due to COVID-19 pandemic. Significant differences were observed between the intervention and the control groups for life skills, dietary habits and mental health scores at the 3-month follow-up. For the intervention group, a significant increase was observed in the mean score of each of the following Life Skills subscales: self-care ( = 0.001), work and study ( = 0.013), career and education planning ( = 0.011) and looking forward/goal settings ( < 0.001). Students also achieved a healthier eating habit compared to those in the control group by decreasing their consumption of processed food. There was no significant effect in terms of body mass index ( = 0.827). Also, there was a significant change in the mental health status ( = 0.012) only in the intervention group as its mean score decreased after 3 months of the intervention implementation. This intervention enhances the mental health and promotes healthy habits leading consequently to a better quality of life and more productivity amongst university students. Therefore, such interventions should be replicated in other similar context to improve university students' well-being.
尽管生活技能项目已被证明能改善个人的心理和身体健康，但在全球范围内，尤其是阿拉伯国家，针对大学生实施生活技能干预的关注度却很低。在本研究中，我们测试了一项基于生活技能的健康促进干预项目KHOTWA（STEP）对黎巴嫩大学生幸福感提升的有效性，黎巴嫩是一个面临经济和政治不稳定的国家。这是一项准实验研究，采用前后测、干预-对照组设计。每组由78名在黎巴嫩一所私立大学学习的参与者组成。采用混合设计来实现干预的过程和结果目标。由于新冠疫情，该项目在线开展。在3个月的随访中，干预组和对照组在生活技能、饮食习惯和心理健康得分方面存在显著差异。对于干预组，以下生活技能子量表的平均分均有显著提高：自我护理（=0.001）、工作和学习（=0.013）、职业和教育规划（=0.011）以及展望未来/目标设定（<0.001）。与对照组相比，学生们通过减少加工食品的消费，养成了更健康的饮食习惯。在体重指数方面没有显著影响（=0.827）。此外，仅干预组的心理健康状况有显著变化（=0.012），因为在干预实施3个月后其平均分下降。这种干预增强了心理健康，促进了健康习惯，从而提高了大学生的生活质量和生产力。因此，应在其他类似背景下推广此类干预措施，以改善大学生的幸福感。
