The purpose of this study was to construct an acceptance-commitment therapy (ACT)-based stress management program for inpatients with schizophrenia and to examine its effects on hospitalization stress, self-efficacy, and psychological well-being.

A non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used. Participants were 44 inpatients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. The experimental group (n=22) received the ACT-based stress management program twice a week for a total of four weeks. The control group (n=22) received the usual care from their primary health care providers. The study was carried out from August 7 to September 1, 2017, and data were analyzed using IBM SPSS/WIN 22.0 with a Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and an independent t-test.

The experimental group showed a significant decrease in hospitalization stress (t=5.09, p<.001) and an increase in self-efficacy (t=2.44, p=.019). However, there was no significant difference in psychological well-being between the two groups (t=0.13, p=.894).

The results of this study suggest that the ACT-based stress management program can be used as an effective mental health nursing intervention for hospitalization stress and self-efficacy for inpatients with schizophrenia.