Middle Eastern Journal of Disability Studies

Abstract

Background & Objectives: Obesity, as a chronic and prevalent disorder, is directly and indirectly associated with many diseases. It is one of the most important fields of study in health psychology. In recent years, people with obesity have shown signs of maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and inefficient interpersonal behavior. Cognitive emotion regulation strategies are processes that people use to manage stress. So, thoughts and cognitions are essential in managing, regulating, and controlling emotions after experiencing a stressful event. Cognitive emotion regulation strategies are among the important aspects of obesity pathology. Therefore, it is considered one of the important diagnostic and therapeutic criteria in psychological interventions for obesity. Interpersonal psychotherapy indicates cognitive, emotional, and affective distress as a result of negative social evaluation, which makes a person suffer from eating disorder symptoms. As a result, it is recommended that thoughts and emotions and inefficiency in social situations be identified, as well as to increase self–esteem and reduce emotional responses that cause eating behavior. This study assessed the efficacy of interpersonal psychotherapy on weight loss and cognitive emotion regulation strategies in obese people.

Methods: The present study was quasi–experimental with a pretest–posttest design and a control group. The statistical population of this research comprised obese people who were referred to nutrition clinics located in a specific area of Tehran City, Iran, from November 2017 to February 2018. This research selected 28 eligible volunteers with a body mass index above 29.9 kg/m2 by purposeful sampling and considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria. They were assigned to the experimental group (interpersonal psychotherapy, n=13) and control group (n=15). The inclusion criteria in this research were as follows: living in Tehran and being able to participate in group therapy sessions, being willing to cooperate, being between 20 and 50 years old, not suffering from a chronic physical disease, lacking any psychological disorders, and being obese (BMI>29.9 kg/m²). The exclusion criteria were as follows: unwillingness to continue attending intervention sessions and failure to attend group therapy for more than two sessions. Then, after explaining the goals and conditions of the study to the participants, they were assured that while their information remains confidential, they can withdraw from the plan at any stage of the study if they wish. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. Then, they completed the demographic and emotional cognitive regulation questionnaires (Garnefski & Kraaij, 2007) at the study's beginning and end. Furthermore, the participant's body mass index was measured at the first meeting and at the treatment's end. The intervention group participated in the interpersonal group therapy for ten sessions. Statistical methods included the Chi–square test and analysis of covariance.

Results: The findings showed that interpersonal psychotherapy could reduce body mass index (p<0.001), reduce negative emotional cognitive regulation strategies (p<0.001), and increase positive emotional cognitive regulation strategies (p<0.001).

Conclusion: Interpersonal psychotherapy is an effective way to lose weight and improve cognitive emotion regulation strategies. Therefore, this treatment method is recommended to promote the physical and mental health of obese individuals.