JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Among university students, the experience of academic stress is associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression. Single-session interventions (SSI) are structured and accessible self-guided interventions, often delivered digitally, that integrate elements of empirically supported treatments. Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) has been shown to be beneficial to alleviate stress, anxiety and depression. However, the effectiveness of CFT (1) in the academic context, and (2) when delivered in brief digital formats has not yet been tested.

Objective:

This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a compassion-focused online single-session intervention (SSI) for reducing stress among university students.

Methods:

University students aged 18–65 years that indicate at least mild stress (a score >7 on the stress scale of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales–21/DASS-21) will be recruited from German-speaking Switzerland. The target sample size are 156 participants randomly assigned to either the intervention or the waitlist control group. The 45-minute intervention follows the typical SSI structure, and combines psychoeducation on academic stress, core CFT principles with guided breathing and compassion imagery exercises, and includes an action plan. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, 24 hours after the intervention, and at the one-week follow-up. The primary outcome is the change in stress between baseline and one-week follow-up, measured with the stress scale of the DASS-21. Secondary outcomes include depressive symptoms, and anxiety measured with DASS-21 depression and anxiety scales between baseline and one-week follow-up. Data will be analyzed using linear (mixed-effects) models.

Results:

Ethical approval for the study was received in September 2025. Recruitment is scheduled to begin in November 2025, and data collection will conclude once 172 participants have been enrolled and completed their participation. Data analysis is planned for spring 2026, with the primary findings being prepared for publication in summer of 2026.

Conclusions:

To our knowledge, the current study is the first randomized-controlled trial to examine the effects of a compassion-focused online single-session intervention on reducing stress in university students. If the program proofs to be effective, it would offer a low-threshold, cost-effective, and scalable mental health intervention for the academic context. Clinical Trial: DRKS-ID DRKS00038409