International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (IJERE) Vol. 13, No. 4, August 2024, pp. 2781~2790 ISSN: 2252-8822, DOI: 10.11591/ijere.v13i4.27693  2781 Journal homepage: http://ijere.iaescore.com Adlerian counseling, fear of intimacy, and social interest among university students Ziad M. Alkhazaleh 1 , Mohammad K. Alkhawaldeh 2 , Fatin A. Mhaidat 1 1 Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, Faculty of Educational Sciences, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan 2 Department of Counseling and Special Education, Educational Sciences School, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan Article Info ABSTRACT Article history: Received Jun 6, 2023 Revised Dec 19, 2023 Accepted Jan 21, 2024 University students in early adulthood indeed encounter diverse developmental demands, particularly in the realm of relationships and social development. This stage often involves considerations related to establishing families and entering into marriage or long-term partnerships. This study aims to assess the efficacy of a premarital counseling program grounded in the Adlerian approach in enhancing intimacy and social interest among a sample of single university students. The sample comprised 718 single young individuals from a public university in Jordan. Among them, 38 students displaying low social interest and experiencing fear of intimacy voluntarily participated. They were divided into two groups: an experimental group of 19 participants and a control group of 19 participants. The study utilized two measurement scales-one for fear of intimacy and another for social interest. The group counseling program, consisting of 11 sessions, was administered. The findings revealed significant differences between the experimental and control groups in pre- and post-measurements, indicating the positive impact of the group counseling program on the experimental group. Additionally, follow-up assessments indicated that the beneficial effects of the group counseling program were sustained over time. Keywords: Adlerian approach Fear of intimacy Premarital counseling Single young Social interest University students This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA license. Corresponding Author: Ziad M. Alkhazaleh Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, Faculty of Educational Sciences, The Hashemite University P.O.B. 330127, Zarqa 13133, Jordan Email: ziad.kaza@yahoo.com 1. INTRODUCTION When the university’s educational environment is safe, it significantly contributes to meeting the diverse needs of its students. As established in relevant literature, individuals at every developmental stage have specific needs that must be addressed. During the youth stage, which university students represent, they exhibit a range of cognitive, moral, social, and psychological needs. Adulthood is a vital area of adult psychological development, on a psychosocial level, in adulthood students require stable and purposeful social relationships to thrive, aligning with their primary need for forming families and marriages [1]. Marriage is the paramount and profoundly significant force within sacred human connections, uniting individuals of both genders [2]. The crux of a triumphant marital union lies in the mutual fostering of profound intimacy on physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels. Intimacy operates as an intermediary in the process of marital consent [3]. intimacy is closely tied to psychological indicators of well-being within couples [4]. For some individuals, the apprehension of intimacy may deter them from embracing marriage. Such individuals might opt to confide in strangers, as they perceive them as safer and less likely to reappear, thus evading the perceived vulnerability of intimacy [5]. Disappointment and frustration can emerge when intimacy wanes [6]. In instances