Career Decision Making, Psychological Resilience, School-to-Work Transition
Conditions
Keywords
Career decision making, Psychological resilience, Adolescent health, School health services, Experiential learning, Quasi experimental design.
Brief summary
The transition to higher education is a critical stage that affects young people's academic, emotional, and professional development. Although experiential learning is recognized as important, comprehensive initiatives addressing both psychological resilience and career decision-making processes remain limited. This study evaluates the impact of a comprehensive, university-focused, practical transition program for high school seniors on their psychological resilience and career decision-making difficulties. In this pre-test-post-test quasi-experimental study with a control group, 80 high school seniors in Mardin, Turkey, were assigned to an intervention group (n=40) or a control group (n=40). The intervention group completed a two-week on-campus experiential program covering academic adjustment, social participation, and hands-on workshops, while the control group received no intervention. Data were collected using the Adolescent Psychological Resilience Scale and the Career Decision-Making Difficulties Scale for High School Students. The primary outcomes evaluated are the changes in participants' overall psychological resilience levels and career decision-making difficulties following the intervention compared to the control group.
Detailed description
This quasi-experimental study evaluated a nurse-led campus-based experiential transition program designed for high school seniors preparing for higher education. Study Design and Sample: The study was conducted with 80 high school seniors in Mardin, Turkey, divided equally into an intervention group (n=40) and a control group (n=40). Intervention: The intervention group participated in a structured, two-week on-campus experiential program. The program content focused on: * Academic adjustment and university life orientation * Social participation activities * Hands-on workshops targeting coping strategies and career exploration The control group did not receive any structured intervention during the study period. Outcome Measures and Data Analysis: Data were collected at baseline (pre-test) and after the intervention (post-test) using: 1. Adolescent Psychological Resilience Scale (evaluating familial, peer, and educational support, adaptation, feelings of challenge, and compassion) 2. Career Decision-Making Difficulties Scale for High School Students (evaluating overall career decision difficulties, readiness, and processing of contradictory information) Within-group changes were analyzed using paired t-tests, and between-group differences were evaluated using independent samples t-tests.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALNurse-Led On-Campus Experiential Transition Program
A structured two-week campus-based program consisting of academic adjustment orientation, social participation activities, and hands-on workshops aimed at enhancing psychological resilience and reducing career decision-making difficulties.
Sponsors
Gümüşhane Universıty
Ministry of Youth and Sports, Turkey
Study design
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Pre-test post-test quasi-experimental design with intervention and control groups.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
17 Years to 19 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Absence of health, educational, or administrative barriers preventing regular participation in the intervention program * Possessing sufficient cognitive and language skills to understand and respond to assessment tools * Voluntary consent to participate in the study and complete all data collection forms
Exclusion criteria
* Presence of significant cognitive or language deficits that prevent understanding and responding to assessment tools * Presence of health, educational, or administrative barriers preventing regular participation in the intervention program * Refusal to complete the data collection forms * Leaving the data collection forms incomplete * Dropping out of school or transferring to another institution during the intervention period
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Adolescent Psychological Resilience Scale Score | Baseline (pre-test) and 2 weeks post-intervention (post-test) | Assesses total psychological resilience scores using the Adolescent Psychological Resilience Scale. Higher scores indicate greater psychological resilience. |
| Change in Career Decision-Making Difficulties Scale Score | Baseline (pre-test) and 2 weeks post-intervention (post-test) | Assesses overall career decision-making difficulties using the Career Decision-Making Difficulties Scale for High School Students. Lower scores indicate fewer career decision-making difficulties. |
Countries
Turkey (Türkiye)
Outcome results
None listed