An interventional study of Laughter Therapy in Laughter Therapy, Quality Of Life and Psychological Well-Being, sponsored by Çankırı Karatekin University. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye). Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-09.
Sponsored by Çankırı Karatekin University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The nursing profession is a healthcare discipline that combines theoretical knowledge with clinical practice skills. The primary aim of nursing education is to train healthcare professionals who are prepared for the profession, aware of their duties and responsibilities, and capable of providing effective care to individuals and the community. During their education, nursing students face various challenges both in the academic sphere and in clinical settings. Students are confronted with numerous stressors, such as a heavy course load, preparing for examinations, undertaking clinical placements, a lack of self-confidence, and the changes brought about by the university environment. When this process is not managed effectively, it is thought that students' quality of life and psychological well-being may be adversely affected. Accordingly, there is a need for complementary health approaches to enhance nursing students' quality of life and to safeguard and promote their psychological well-being. Included among these complementary health approaches, laughter therapy has physiological and psychological effects on individuals. There are numerous positive effects associated with laughter, such as improving cognitive functions, enhancing respiration, increasing pain tolerance, improving sleep quality, reducing exam anxiety and lowering stress hormone levels.
Accordingly, the aim of this thesis is to investigate the effect of laughter therapy administered to nursing students on their quality of life and psychological well-being. A review of the literature revealed no existing studies on this topic. Consequently, it is anticipated that this planned thesis will make a significant contribution to filling this gap in the literature.
The study is planned as a randomised controlled experimental study using a pre-test-post-test-follow-up design. The research will be conducted with second-year nursing students at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Çankırı Karatekin University. A total of 112 students who meet the inclusion criteria and are allocated to the experimental (n=56) and control (n=56) groups via randomisation will form the study sample. Experimental group students will undergo a laughter therapy programme comprising a total of eight sessions, at a rate of two sessions per week; the control group will receive no intervention during the study period. Session times will be planned together with the students in the experimental group who will receive laughter therapy. Research data will be collected using the Demographic Information Form, the SF-12 Quality of Life Scale and the Psychological Well-being Scale. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 24.0, will be used to analyse the data obtained from this study.
2,193 studies on the registry are indexed under Psychological Well-Being; 728 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 56 is below the median of 110 across 1,796 interventional studies indexed under Psychological Well-Being.
Browse Psychological Well-Being studies →Çankırı Karatekin University is the lead sponsor of 65 studies on the registry; 20 are open to participants now.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Behavioral: Laughter Therapy
Experimental group students will undergo a laughter therapy programme comprising a total of eight sessions, at a rate of two sessions per week; the control group will receive no intervention during the study period. The days and times for the laughter therapy sessions to be conducted with the experimental group will be planned in consultation with the students. The sessions will be held in a suitable classroom or conference room with the participants seated in a U-shaped arrangement. During the first session, students will receive a brief introduction and information about the activities to be conducted throughout the session. Each session aims to encourage spontaneous laughter by incorporating breathing exercises, rhythmic clapping and vocal exercises, playful and energetic games, "icebreaker laughter," and guided meditation. Each session is scheduled to last approximately 40 minutes.
Change in quality of life measured by the 12-item Quality of Life Scale
The scale was developed by Ware et al. in 1995. A validity and reliability study conducted by Soylu and Kütük in 2002 demonstrated that it is a measurement tool with adequate psychometric properties for assessing general health status and health-related quality of life in clinical practice and scientific research. The scale comprises 12 items across eight sub-dimensions: physical functioning (2 items), physical role (2 items), bodily pain (1 item), general health (1 item), energy (1 item), social functioning (1 item), emotional role (2 items) and mental health (2 items). Items relating to physical and emotional roles are answered on a dichotomous basis (yes or no), whilst the other items are measured on a Likert scale ranging from 3 to 6. A score of 100 on the scale indicates the best state of health, whilst a score of 0 indicates the worst state of health. In the Turkish validity and reliability study, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was determined to be between 0.92 and 0.88.
Time frame: Baseline (before the intervention) and immediately after completion of the intervention
Change in psychological well-being measued by the 8-item Psychological Well-being Scale
The scale identifies key elements of human functioning, ranging from positive relationships to feelings of competence and leading a meaningful and purposeful life. It was developed by Diener and colleagues in 2009. The adaptation into Turkish was carried out by Telef in 2011. In the reliability study of the scale, the Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient was calculated as .80 The items on the Psychological Well-being Scale are rated on a scale of 1 to 7, ranging from 'I strongly disagree' (1) to 'I strongly agree' (7). All items are phrased in positive terms. Scores range from 8 to 56. A high score indicates that the individual possesses a wide range of psychological resources and strengths. Although the scale does not provide separate measurements of the various dimensions of well-being, it offers a general overview of positive functioning across different areas that we believe to be important.
Time frame: Baseline (before the intervention) and immediately after completion of the intervention
Plan to share: No
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Start is estimated for Nov 2026; primary completion for Dec 2026, 1 month later.
Of 1,259 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Psychological Well-Being, half reached primary completion within 17 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 7 and three quarters within 34. This study's planned 1 month is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 1,302 studies reached it within 16 months; a quarter within 7 and three quarters within 34.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Nov 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Çankırı Karatekin University