Evaluation of a brief intervention based on Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training for Emotional Problem Solving for Adolescents (DBT STEPS-A) in Italian students: results from a randomized controlled trial

The dataset includes data collcted to evaluate the effects of a brief classroom-based (universal) intervention inspired to DBT. Twenty-two 11th-grade classes from five Italian high schools were randomly assigned to the intervention group (N=251) or a control condition (usual activities, N=198). Assessments were conducted at baseline, post-intervention, and at 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Primary outcomes included risk behaviors and emotion regulation skills (DBT-Ways of Coping Checklist, Neacsiu et al., 2010); secondary outcomes encompassed depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 Kroenke, Spitzer & Williams, 2001), anxiety symptoms (Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders, Birmaher et al., 1999), emotional dysregulation (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, Gratz & Roemer, 2004), and social problem-solving abilities (Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised Short Form (SPSI-R:S) (D’Zurilla, Nezu & Olivares, 2002).