The Effectiveness of the Combat Stress Now Program on Cognitive Appraisals, Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies, Achievement Emotions and Academic Satisfaction

he purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the Combat Stress Now Program on university students ‘cognitive appraisal processes, cognitive emotion regulation strategies, achievement emotions and academic satisfaction. In this Quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest control-group design in company with follow up stage, 50 students in experimental (25 students) and control (25 students) groups responded to the Stress Appraisal Measure-Revised (SAM-R), the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), The Achievement Emotions Questionnaire-Revised (AEQ-R) and the Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS). The experimental group received 10 Combat Stress Now Program sessions (2 hours a session). The results statistical procedures of multivariate and univariate covariance analysis indicated that Combat Stress Now Program was effective in increasing positive cognitive appraisals, adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies, positive achievement emotions and academic satisfaction and in decreasing negative cognitive appraisals, non-adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and negative achievement emotions in short term and long term. These findings suggest that Combat Stress Now Program by reducing or eliminating stressors, tolerating or adjusting to negative events or realities, maintaining a positive self-image, maintaining emotional equilibrium and continuing satisfying relationships with others could result in mental immunization in students.