The Effect of an Online Decision-Making Skills Psychoeducation Programme on University Students’ Decision-Making Styles: A Mixed Method Study

Year 2023, , 300 - 319, 31.08.2023

Şahabettin Mutlu , Zöhre Kaya

https://doi.org/10.30900/kafkasegt.1314617

Abstract

This study examines the effect on university students’ decision-making styles of an online decision-making skills psychoeducation programme focused on cognitive behavioural therapy. A nested design, which is one of the mixed method designs, was used in the study. In the quantitative part of the study, a quasi-experimental design was used to test the effect of the programme, while in the qualitative part, a phenomenological design was used. The quantitative data of the study were obtained through the “Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire”, while the qualitative data were obtained through a “Semi-Structured Interview Form”, “Session Evaluation Form” and “Psychoeducation Programme Evaluation Form”. The quantitative data of the study were collected from 22 participants, of whom 11 were in the experimental group and 11 were in the control group, and the qualitative data were collected from the 11 participants included in the experimental group. Descriptive statistics, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis, the Friedman rank test, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and the Mann-Whitney U test for independent samples were used for the analysis of the quantitative data. Content analysis was performed on the qualitative data. As a result of the study, it was determined that the psychoeducation programme caused a partially significant increase in the decision-making self-esteem and vigilant decision-making style, a partially significant decrease in the avoidant decision-making style, and a significant decrease in the procrastinating decision-making style of the participants in the experimental group. However, it was observed that the psychoeducation programme did not have a significant effect on the hypervigilant decision-making style of the students in the experimental group. When the views of the participants in the experimental group about the psychoeducation programme were examined, the main views were that the content of the programme was considered satisfactory, that the programme was evaluated as an awareness-raising process, that it aroused positive and motivating emotions, and that it was a beneficial study that provided practical and tangible gains.

Keywords

Online decision-making skills psychoeducation programme, cognitive behavioural therapy, decision-making styles, university students, mixed method

References

• Allwood, C. M., & Salo, I. (2012). Decision-making styles and stress. International Journal of Stress Management, 19(1), 34–47. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027420
• Andersson, G. & Cuijpers, P. (2008). Pros and cons of online cognitive–behavioural therapy. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 193(4), 270-271. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.108.054080
• Arroba, T. (1977). Styles of decision making and their use: An empirical study. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 5(2), 149–158. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069887708258110
• Avşaroğlu, S., & Ömer, Ü. (2007). Investigation of self-esteem, decision-making and stress coping styles of university students in terms of self-esteem and some variables. Selcuk University Journal of Social Sciences Institute, (18), 85-100.
• Bavoľár, J., & Orosová, O. (2015). Decision-making styles and their associations with decision-making competencies and mental health. Judgment and Decision making, 10(1), 115-122.
• Bavolar, J., & Bacikova-Sleskova, M. (2020). Psychological protective factors mediate the relationship between decision-making styles and mental health. Current Psychology: A Journal for Diverse Perspectives on Diverse Psychological Issues, 39(4), 1277–1286. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-018-9831-9
• Beck, A. T. (1993). Cognitive therapy: Past, present, and future. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61(2), 194–198. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.61.2.194
• Beck, J. S. (2020). Cognitive behavior therapy: Basics and beyond. Guilford Publications.
• Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
• Brown, N. W. (2020). psychoeducational groups: Process and practice. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315169590
• Commendador, K. (2011). The relationship between maternal parenting style, female adolescent decision making, and contraceptive use. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 23(10), 561-572.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-7599.2011.00635.x
• Conyne, R. K. (2000). Prevention in counseling psychology: At long last, has the time now come? The Counseling Psychologist, 28(6), 838–844. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000000286005
• Corey, G. (2015). Theory and practice of group counseling. Cengage Learning.
• Coudray, C., Palmer, R., & Frazier, P. (2019). Moderators of the efficacy of a web-based stress management intervention for college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 66(6), 747–754. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000340
• Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2016). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage publications.
• Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2018). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.
• Çivitci, A. (2020). Group psycho-education. Ankara: Pegem Publications Çolakkadıoğlu, O., & Güçray, S. (2012). The effect of conflict theory based decision-making skill training psycho-educational group experience on decision making styles of adolescents. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 12(2), 669 - 676. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ981811
• Çolakkadıoğlu, O., & Çelik, B. (2016). The effect of decision-making skill training programs on self-esteem and decision-making styles. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 65, 259-276. http://dx.doi.org/10.14689/ejer.2016.65.15
• Deniz, M. E. (2004). Investigation of the relation between decision-making self-esteem, decisionmaking styles and problem solving skills of university students. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 4 (15), 23-35. Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ejer/issue/42412/510642
• Deniz, M. (2006). The relationships among coping with stress, life satisfaction, decision-making styles and decision self-esteem: An investigation with Turkish university students. Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal, 34(9), 1161-1170.
• Egan, G. (2013). The skilled helper: A problem-management and opportunity-development approach to helping. Cengage Learning.
• Ercengiz, M., & Şar, A. H. (2018). The effect of decision-making skills psycho-training programme related acceptance and commitment therapy on decision making styles. Sakarya University Journal of Education, 8(4), 109-130. https://doi.org/10.19126/suje.417797
• Filippello, P., Sorrenti, L., Larcan,L. & Rizzo, A. (2013). Academic underachievement, self esteem and self-efficacy in decision making. Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology, 1 (3),1-11. https://doi.org/10.6092/2282-1619/2013.1.934
• Gambetti, E., & Giusberti, F. (2019). Personality, decision-making styles and investments. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 80, 14-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2019.03.002
• Gerrity, D. A., & DeLucia-Waack, J. L. (2007). Effectiveness of groups in the schools. Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 32(1), 97–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/01933920600978604
• Greenberger, D., & Padesky, C. A. (2015). Mind over mood: Change how you feel by changing the way you think. Guilford Publications.
• Harren, V. A. (1979). A model of career decision making for college students. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14(2), 119–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-8791(79)90065-4
• Heppner, P. P., Wampold, B. E., Owen, J., & Wang, K. T. (2015). Research design in counseling. Cengage Learning.
• Klaczynski, P.A., Byrnes, J.B., & Jacobs, J.E. (2001), “Introduction: Special Issue on decision making”. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 22, 225-236. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0193-3973(01)00081-8
• Kline, R. B. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. Guilford Press.
• Mann, L., Harmoni, R., Power, C., Beswick, G., & Ormond, C. (1988). Effectiveness of the GOFER course in decision making for high school students. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 1, 159-168. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.3960010304
• Mann, L., Radford, M., Burnett, P., Ford, S., Bond, M., Leung, K., Nakamura, H., Vaughan, G., & Yang, K.S. (1998). Cross-cultural differences in self- reported decision-making style and confidence. International Journal of Psychology, 33, 325-335. https://doi.org/10.1080/002075998400213
• Nota, L., & Soresi, S. (2004). Improving the problem-solving and decision-making skills of a high ındecision group of young adolescents: A test of the``difficult: No problem!''training. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 4(1), 3-21. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:IJVO.0000021054.81492.8d
• Palamarchuk, I. S., & Vaillancourt, T. (2021). Mental resilience and coping with stress: A comprehensive, multi-level model of cognitive processing, decision making, and behavior. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 15, 719674. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2021.719674
• Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.4770140111
• Salkovskis, P. M. (Ed.). (1997). Frontiers of cognitive therapy. Guilford Press.
• Scott, S. G., & Bruce, R. A. (1995). Decision-making style: The development and assessment of a new measure. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 55(5), 818–831. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164495055005017 Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2013). Using multivariate statistics (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
• Thunholm, P. (2004). Decision-making style: Habit, style or both? Personality and Individual Differences, 36(4), 931–944. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(03)00162-4
• Van Dongen, K., Schraagen, J. M., Eikelboom, A., & Brake, G. (2005). Supporting decision making by a critical thinking tool. Proceedings Of The Human Factors And Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 49 (3), 517-521 https://doi.org/10.1177/154193120504900364
• Visvalingam, S., McHardy, H.L., Norder, S.J. et al. A mixed methods study of an online intervention to reduce perfectionism. Curr Psychol (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-02953-y
• Wallen, N. E., & Fraenkel, J. R. (2013). Educational research: A guide to the process. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410601001
• Walsh, J. (2013). Psychoeducation. In Encyclopedia of Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.317
• Wasarhelyi, J. N., John, B., Long, B., & Lovas, G. S. (2019). The effects of parent attachment and parenting styles on decision-making in college students [Susquehanna University]. Journal of Student Research. https://doi.org/10.47611/jsr.vi.639
• Wenzel, A., Dobson, K. S., & Hays, P. A. (2016). Cognitive behavioral therapy techniques and strategies. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/14936-000
• Wolff, J. M., & Crockett, L. J. (2011). The role of deliberative decision making, parenting, and friends in adolescent risk behaviors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40(12), 1607–1622. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-011-9644-8
• Yüksel-Şahin, F. (2021). A Study on Counselors’ Views about the Covid-19, Performing In-Person and Online Counseling, and Receiving In-Person and Online Training. IBAD Journal of Social Sciences, (9), 496-522. https://doi.org/10.21733/ibad.799721