Effects And Mechanisms Of A Dialectical Self-belief Intervention On Middle School Students’ Psychological Adjustment:A Study Of Wise Intervention

The prevalence of mental health issues among adolescents has been steadily increasing,posing a significant public health challenge for the nation and its future prospects.Although numerous effective mental health intervention programs have been devised,there remains potential for enhancement in areas such as target groups,affordability,and untapped intervention objectives.The 2020 health policy,issued by the General Office of the State Council,underscores the value of prioritizing prevention to reduce disease incidence and minimize societal healthcare expenses.Among the myriad factors that impact adolescent mental health,an individual’s self-perception plays a crucial role in their psychological adjustment.In line with the“prevention is better than cure”principle,this study employs the wise intervention framework,guided by the differential susceptibility theory and situational interaction theory,to develop a concise and targeted dialectical self-belief intervention program for the first time.The program’s objective is to reshape adolescents’irrational interpretations of their self-concept,thereby enhancing their psychological adjustment.To elaborate,this study initially explores the impact of a dialectical self-belief intervention on adolescents’psychological adjustment.Additionally,the study delves into the potential mechanisms underlying the intervention’s effects,encompassing both mediating and moderating factors.The research questions are as follows:Research Question 1:To ascertain whether the intervention effectively improves adolescents’psychological adjustment,encompassing emotional,behavioral,social,and academic aspects.Research Question 2:To examine the manner in which the intervention is effective,specifically,whether it enhances adolescents’psychological capital,resulting in improved psychological adjustment.Research Question 3:To assess when and for whom the intervention is effective,namely,whether social evaluation/feedback and fear of negative evaluation moderate the pathways through which the intervention operates.In compliance with the pre-registered research protocol,a single-blind,randomized controlled trial was employed to carry out the intervention.Initially,308 high school seniors(M_age=15.58 years,SD=0.32;48.1%males)from a middle school in Shandong Province,who were in the transition phase of secondary school,were chosen using whole-group random sampling.The intervention process comprised a preliminary qualitative study and a formal survey study.The preparatory qualitative research was conducted in the summer of 2022 through face-to-face/online interviews,focus groups,and open-ended surveys to aid in the development of intervention materials,optimization of the intervention process,and enhancement of the research framework.The formal survey commenced in the fall 2022 semester,with four data collection sessions spanning two months:（1）pre-test（gathering baseline data on sociodemographic characteristics,manipulated test variables,moderating variables,mediating variables,and outcome variables）;（2）intervention:the intervention group completed reading and writing tasks related to dialectical self-beliefs,while the active control group engaged in similar exercises focused on current social news events rather than dialectical self-beliefs;（3）Post-test 1（collecting post-test data on manipulated test variables and mediating variables）;（4）Post-test 2（acquiring post-test data on outcome variables）.The intervention’s effectiveness was assessed through intention-to-treat analysis using SPSS and Mplus software.Randomization tests showed that the subjects were well-balanced by chance.A manipulation check indicated that there were no significant differences between the intervention and control groups on the four indicators included in this study.More sensitive items or immediate measures may be required to capture participants’internalization of the dialectical self-belief intervention.The primary analyses revealed that the dialectical self-belief intervention positively and significantly predicted social adaptation.However,no significant effects of the intervention manipulation were observed on any psychological adaptation indicators,such as emotional,behavioral,and academic adaptation.The mediating effects of psychological capital and its subordinate dimensions between the dialectical self-belief intervention and adolescents’psychological adaptation were also not significant.A moderated model with emotional adaptation as an outcome demonstrated a significant effect of manipulation conditions interacting with social evaluation/feedback.A simple slope test suggested that the moderating model represented a“timely assistance”model,indicating that the intervention was more effective for adolescents who received greater negative evaluations/feedback.Nevertheless,no significant moderating effect of social appraisal/feedback was detected for the mediating pathway or for any outcome indicator other than emotional adaptation,and the moderating effect of fear of negative appraisal was not significant across pathways.Furthermore,the results of sensitivity analyses did not significantly deviate from those described above,demonstrating the relative robustness of the dialectical self-belief intervention findings.In conclusion,the dialectical self-belief intervention offered adolescents a fresh perspective on self-examination,proved cost-effective,and somewhat facilitated psychological adaptation in some adolescents.It also supplied novel ideas and insights for future campus-based preventive interventions.Subsequent studies should continue to adopt a multi-outcome framework to investigate whether intervention programs positively impact various outcome domains simultaneously.Additionally,efforts should be made to examine potential mediating pathways through which intervention programs influence outcome indicators.Moreover,investigating the moderating mechanisms of intervention effects can assist in identifying the boundary conditions of intervention impacts and contribute to the advancement of precision mental health initiatives.