Rasta Amirian1 
, Fereshteh Basery soork2 , Leila Namaki3 , Faezeh Vaziri1 , Mahboobeh Dehghani Firoozabadi2 , Zhaleh Harandi Moghaddam *2
, Fereshteh Basery soork2 , Leila Namaki3 , Faezeh Vaziri1 , Mahboobeh Dehghani Firoozabadi2 , Zhaleh Harandi Moghaddam *2
1- Science and Arts university
2- Azad University
3- tehran university
2- Azad University
3- tehran university
Abstract: (19 Views)
Background & Objective: According to the World Health Organization, anxiety disorders are the most common group of mental illnesses in the world and the ninth leading cause of health-related disability. Social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia, is classified by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as an anxiety disorder characterized by an intense fear of being in social situations that may be under scrutiny by others. Social anxiety disorder usually begins in late childhood and continues throughout life. People with social anxiety disorder experience intense emotional and/or physical symptoms and may also exhibit symptoms of shyness and discomfort in social situations, even though they enjoy being with others. Long-term effects of social anxiety disorder include low self-esteem, reduced quality of life, and poor academic performance. The prevalence of social anxiety disorder is particularly high among college students. Social anxiety disorder is characterized by a persistent fear of social situations, which can reduce a teenager's ability to socialize. For this disorder, a lifetime prevalence of 2% to 7% in adults and up to 25% in adolescents and young adults has been reported, which indicates a relatively large number of these individuals in society and makes addressing the issue of treating these individuals more necessary than ever (1). Acceptance and commitment therapy is one of the effective treatments for psychological disorders that has been less studied in adolescents with social anxiety disorder, and therefore conducting an independent study could be valuable. Since no study has been reported to date on the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on cognitive emotion regulation in adolescents aged 12 to 18 with social anxiety disorder, this study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on cognitive emotion regulation in adolescents aged 12 to 18 with social anxiety disorder.
Methods: In this study, which was conducted as a quasi-experimental study with pre-test and post-test with a control group, 30 eligible volunteers from 12 to 18-year-old adolescents with social anxiety disorder in Yazd city were included in the study, of which 15 were randomly assigned to the intervention group and 15 to the control group. The scores of the emotion regulation variable using cognitive emotion regulation (Granofsky and Kraij, 2007) were compared at two time points before and after 8 sessions based on acceptance and commitment. Data analysis was performed using analysis of covariance. The significance level of the tests was 0.05.
Results: Data analysis showed that the score of cognitive emotion regulation test in the intervention group and after receiving treatment decreased significantly compared to the control group, respectively (P<0.001). Based on the results of the effect size, 66% of the difference between the intervention group and the control group in the cognitive emotion regulation variable was due to treatment.
Conclusion: In explaining the research findings, one potential solution for people with social anxiety is acceptance and commitment therapy, a psychological treatment that teaches mindfulness skills to help people accept their anxiety and commit to living in accordance with their personal values. The primary goal of acceptance and commitment therapy is not to eliminate anxiety symptoms, but rather to improve psychological flexibility, which refers to a person's ability to be more fully in touch with the present moment as a conscious human being and engage in value-based actions. Even though reducing anxiety symptoms is not the primary focus of acceptance and commitment therapy, there is considerable evidence that it can significantly reduce anxiety symptoms and put anxiety disorders into remission. Unlike other established treatments for anxiety, such as cognitive behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy, acceptance and commitment therapy offers a unique transdiagnostic approach that emphasizes acceptance, mindfulness, and values-based behavioral exercises rather than control, rational analysis, and cognitive exercises, and can lead to improved emotion and anxiety regulation in individuals. Acceptance and commitment therapy avoids directly reducing negative emotion and instead focuses on accepting and relinquishing control over maladaptive attempts to regulate internal emotional states. Acceptance and commitment therapy has developed practices that emphasize concepts such as mindfulness, acceptance of cognitions and feelings, and behaviors consistent with personal values. The philosophy of acceptance and commitment therapy is more compatible with committed and goal-directed behaviors. The core process of acceptance and commitment therapy involves engaging in activities that align with personal values, which may be helpful for relearning rewards and increasing positive emotional states such as pride, gratitude, and interest. The results of the present study showed that acceptance and commitment therapy has a significant effect on cognitive emotion regulation in adolescents aged 12 to 18 with social anxiety disorder and can lead to improvement in cognitive emotion regulation in these individuals. Therefore, acceptance and commitment therapy can be used as a complementary treatment to improve cognitive emotion regulation in adolescents aged 12 to 18 with social anxiety disorder.
Methods: In this study, which was conducted as a quasi-experimental study with pre-test and post-test with a control group, 30 eligible volunteers from 12 to 18-year-old adolescents with social anxiety disorder in Yazd city were included in the study, of which 15 were randomly assigned to the intervention group and 15 to the control group. The scores of the emotion regulation variable using cognitive emotion regulation (Granofsky and Kraij, 2007) were compared at two time points before and after 8 sessions based on acceptance and commitment. Data analysis was performed using analysis of covariance. The significance level of the tests was 0.05.
Results: Data analysis showed that the score of cognitive emotion regulation test in the intervention group and after receiving treatment decreased significantly compared to the control group, respectively (P<0.001). Based on the results of the effect size, 66% of the difference between the intervention group and the control group in the cognitive emotion regulation variable was due to treatment.
Conclusion: In explaining the research findings, one potential solution for people with social anxiety is acceptance and commitment therapy, a psychological treatment that teaches mindfulness skills to help people accept their anxiety and commit to living in accordance with their personal values. The primary goal of acceptance and commitment therapy is not to eliminate anxiety symptoms, but rather to improve psychological flexibility, which refers to a person's ability to be more fully in touch with the present moment as a conscious human being and engage in value-based actions. Even though reducing anxiety symptoms is not the primary focus of acceptance and commitment therapy, there is considerable evidence that it can significantly reduce anxiety symptoms and put anxiety disorders into remission. Unlike other established treatments for anxiety, such as cognitive behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy, acceptance and commitment therapy offers a unique transdiagnostic approach that emphasizes acceptance, mindfulness, and values-based behavioral exercises rather than control, rational analysis, and cognitive exercises, and can lead to improved emotion and anxiety regulation in individuals. Acceptance and commitment therapy avoids directly reducing negative emotion and instead focuses on accepting and relinquishing control over maladaptive attempts to regulate internal emotional states. Acceptance and commitment therapy has developed practices that emphasize concepts such as mindfulness, acceptance of cognitions and feelings, and behaviors consistent with personal values. The philosophy of acceptance and commitment therapy is more compatible with committed and goal-directed behaviors. The core process of acceptance and commitment therapy involves engaging in activities that align with personal values, which may be helpful for relearning rewards and increasing positive emotional states such as pride, gratitude, and interest. The results of the present study showed that acceptance and commitment therapy has a significant effect on cognitive emotion regulation in adolescents aged 12 to 18 with social anxiety disorder and can lead to improvement in cognitive emotion regulation in these individuals. Therefore, acceptance and commitment therapy can be used as a complementary treatment to improve cognitive emotion regulation in adolescents aged 12 to 18 with social anxiety disorder.
Keywords: acceptance and commitment therapy, cognitive emotion regulation, adolescents, social anxiety disorder
Type of Study: Original Research Article |
Subject:
Psychology
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