Stress prevention through a time management training intervention: an experimental study

TLDR

The study examined whether a brief time‑management training program could improve students’ perceived control of time and reduce perceived stress. A randomized trial with 177 first‑year students assigned 89 to the training and 88 to an active control group. The 2‑hour intervention prevented the expected rise in perceived stress in the control group, increased perceived time control, and protected freshmen from stress escalation at the semester’s start.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a short-term time management training programme on perceived control of time and perceived stress. The sample of 177 freshmen was randomly assigned to a time management training (n = 89) and an active control group (CG) (n = 88). We expected that an increase in external demands during the first weeks of the semester would lead to more perceived stress in the CG, but not in the time management training group, due to the time management intervention. As hypothesised, perceived stress increased in the CG, but not in the time management training group. Furthermore, perceived control of time increased in the time management training group but remained unchanged in the CG. Even a rather short intervention of 2 h can protect freshmen from an increase in perceived stress at the beginning of the semester.