Interventional Study on Improving Interpersonal Communication Ability of High School Students in the "Non violent Communication" psychological health course

Objective To analyze the disparities in the effectiveness of "Nonviolent Communication"(NVC) activity curriculum of psychological health course on interpersonal skills among senior one students in both regular and international class, and to provide empirical evidence for teaching practices aimed at enhancing students' interpersonal capabilities. Methods A total of 206 first-year high school students were chosen from two high schools in Chengdu offered both regular and international class, using the cluster sampling method. Among them, 105 students were allocated to the experimental group, while 101 students comprised the control group. The experimental group underwent eight sessions of "NVC" activity curriculum, each lasting 90 minutes, conducted from November to December 2022. In contrast, the control group participated in eight sessions of other courses delivered by different teachers. Pre-post test surveys were administered in October 2022 and January 2023, respectively, using the Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire for Adolescents (ICQA). Results The results of the repeated measures analysis of variance revealed significant main effects for both pre-post test and group type. Notably, a significant interaction was found between pre-post test and group, as well as among pre-post test and class type. Further analysis of simple effects indicated that, compared to the control group, the experimental group's "NVC" activity curriculum activities significantly enhanced participants' interpersonal communication skills. Additionally, within the experimental group, students in the international class demonstrated a faster improvement in their interpersonal communication skills compared to those in the regular class. Conclusion The "NVC" activity curriculum effectively enhances the interpersonal skills of both regular and international high school students, with a more pronounced impact observed among students in the international class. Schools should implement the "NVC" psychological health course as early as possible to assist Senior One students in smoothly navigating the adaptation period.