Effect of Cognitive Behavioral Thearpy Based Psychoeducation Program on Unıversity Students\' Automatic Thoughts, Perceived Stress and Self-Efficacy Levels

Background: University life is a special period in which students take full responsibility for their own lives, especially as individuals, and therefore includes many positive and negative situations. As a result of this situation, they need serious psychological support in order to cope with the potential or real problems they experience. The research was conducted to determine the effect of Cognitive Behavioral Thearpy (CBT)-based psychoeducation program on university students' automatic thoughts, perceived stress and self-efficacy levels. Methods: The research was carried out as a quasi-experimental with a single group pre-test and post-test. The research was carried out at a university in Turkey between 01/10/2022 – 15/11/2022 and the sample consisted of 223 students who agreed to participate in the research. This research was conducted in a semi-experimental way with a single group pre-test and post-test pattern. The psychoeducation program prepared within the scope of the study was conducted face-to-face for a total of 4 sessions, each session being approximately 45 minutes. In the study, Individual Introduction Form, Automatic Thought Questionnaire, Perceived Stres Scale and General Self-efficacy Scale was used. Data analysis was done with SPSS 23 (SPSS) statistical package program. In the analysis of the data, besides the descriptive statistics, Pearson Correlation and and the Spearman's Correlation. Results: It was determined that 73.4% of the students participating in the research were female 49.5% stayed in the student dormitory. It was seen that the economic situation of 53.2% was moderate and 41.4% and 67.1% of the students had a good relationship with their families, while 63.5% had a good relationship with their friends. After the psychoeducation, there was a significant decrease in the mean scores of students' automatic thoughts and perceived stress, while their self-perception scores increased significantly (p<0.05). Conclusion: It has been determined that the CBT-based psychoeducation program applied positively affects university students in various fields. After the psychoeducation, it was determined that the perceived stress levels of the students decreased, their self-efficacy levels were positively affected and their negative automatic thinking levels decreased.