Exploration of the Effectiveness of a Resilience Curriculum Delivered as a College Course: The APT Framework & THRIVE Resilience Curriculum

Abstract

Starting college can be one of the most exciting events in the life of a young person as well as one of the most stressful. Despite the availability of campus resources to support students who are experiencing struggles, less than 20% of students utilize campus resources for intervention purposes. To address this need, this study utilized mixed methods to explore the effectiveness of a universal preventive intervention implemented in the form of a college course for credit. Study participants completed pre- and post-test measures of perceived stress, perceived capacity for experiencing resilience, and reported satisfaction with life. Treatment-group participants’ responses to questions directed at their perceptions of intervention acceptability and appropriateness were analyzed using a directed content analysis. Preliminary results indicated that treatment-group participants reported significant decreases in perceived stress and significant increases in perceived satisfaction with life compared to reports from a comparison group. There were non-significant differences in perceived capacity to experience resilience between the treatment and comparison groups. Recommendations for modifications and future research directions for implementing the THRIVE Resilience Curriculum as a college course for credit are discussed.