Comparison of the Efficiency of Self-awareness, Stress Management, Effective Communication Life Skill Trainings on the Social and Academic Adjustment of First-year Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of self-awareness, life skills training, stress management, and effective communication, on the social and academic adjustment of first-year university students. To achieve study aim, a quasi-experimental method was used. In total, 100 first-year male and female students of Uremia’s Islamic Azad University were chosen and randomly placed into four groups, each of which included 25 persons; Three of the groups were experiment groups, and the received training in one of these areas, self-awareness skills, stress management or effective communication while the fourth group served as the control group and received no intervention. Training content packages were sourced from the Publications Office and Cultural Affairs of State Welfare Organization and compiled from materials on student life skills training, and injury prevention. Training sessions were conducted through workshops and used active learning techniques such as; brainstorming, role playing and group activities. The Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) was used for pre-test and post-tests. Independent sample T-tests and ANCOVA were used to analyze the data. The results showed that life skills training had an overall positive effect on the social and academic adjustment of the students in the experimental groups (P<01/0). In determining the efficacy of each of the skills on social adjustment, it was found that the self-awareness skills variable had a greater affect than the other skills. Stress management skills and effective communication were the next effective, respectively. Efficacy was similar in each of the three skills for academic adjustment, and there was no significant difference between them.