Determining the Effectiveness of Treatment Based on Acceptance and Commitment on Death Anxiety and Coronavirus Anxiety in Teenage Girls with Coronavirus

Zamani, Zakiyeh; Demehri, Farangis; Saeidmanesh , Mohsen

Volume 14 - Articles-1403 MEJDS (2024) 14: 50 | Back to browse issues page

Ethics code: IR.ACECR.JDM.REC.1400.074

Mendeley

Zotero

RefWorks

Zamani Z, Demehri F, Saeidmanesh M. Determining the Effectiveness of Treatment Based on Acceptance and Commitment on Death Anxiety and Coronavirus Anxiety in Teenage Girls with Coronavirus. MEJDS 2024; 14 :50-50
URL: http://jdisabilstud.org/article-1-2967-en.html

Determining the Effectiveness of Treatment Based on Acceptance and Commitment on Death Anxiety and Coronavirus Anxiety in Teenage Girls with Coronavirus

Zakiyeh Zamani ^*¹

, Farangis Demehri²

, Mohsen Saeidmanesh²

1- MA, Department of Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychology, Science and Arts University, Yazd, Iran
2- Assistant Professor, Department of Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychology, Science and Arts University, Yazd, Iran

Abstract: (1137 Views)

Abstract
Background & Objectives: The epidemic of coronavirus disease and the implementation of preventive policies have had a tremendous psychological and physical impact on society, and in recent years, the prevalence of mental and psychological problems among young people has increased significantly. Some researchers have reported its rate among people under 20 years to be 75%. The results have shown that the onset of mental health issues between the ages of 12 and 24 is associated with several disorders that will continue for the following years of life. In addition, some have stated that issues and problems in the field of mental health are the main cause of physical diseases in teenagers and young adults. These problems have become more severe since the coronavirus disease epidemics began. Based on this, the present study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of treatment based on acceptance and commitment on coronavirus anxiety and death anxiety in adolescent girls with coronavirus.
Methods: The method of the present study was quasi–experimental with a pretest–posttest design and a control group. The statistical population included all teenage girls inflicted with coronavirus living in Yazd City, Iran, in 2021–2022. Of them, 30 volunteers were included in the study based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Then, they were randomly assigned to two groups of 15 people: experimental and control. The inclusion criteria were as follows: girls inflicted with coronavirus in Yazd City, participation in training sessions, participants' willingness and written consent, not suffering from psychological disorders and chronic physical diseases, not participating in other counseling and therapy groups at the same time, and ability to answer questionnaires. The exclusion criteria were as follows: absence of more than two sessions from the protocol sessions of acceptance and commitment therapy, lack of trust in the group, unwillingness to continue cooperation, not completing the questionnaires, not completing the tasks included in the protocol of acceptance and commitment therapy, and the therapist's diagnosis that the subject got hurt by the group. Data were obtained using the Corona Disease Anxiety Scale (Alipour et al., 2020) and the Death Anxiety Scale (Templer, 1970) before and after the implementation of the program Commitment and Acceptance Therapy (Hayes et al., 2011). The experimental group underwent Acceptance and Commitment Therapy during 8 sessions of 60 minutes (two sessions per week), and the control group did not receive any intervention. The data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage, and inferential statistics using univariate covariance analysis and independent t test in SPSS version 23 software. The significance level of the tests was set at 0.05.
Results: Results of univariate covariance analysis showed that acceptance and commitment therapy was effective in reducing coronavirus anxiety (p<0.001) and death anxiety (p<0.001) in adolescent girls. According to the obtained value of the eta coefficient for coronavirus anxiety and death anxiety, it can be said that 0.337 of the variance of coronavirus anxiety and 0.417 of the variance of death anxiety was related to the effect of acceptance and commitment therapy.
Conclusion: Based on the results of the research, acceptance and commitment therapy affects reducing coronavirus anxiety and death anxiety. Therefore, this treatment program can be used to empower female teenagers and reduce the anxiety of coronavirus and death.

Keywords: Treatment of acceptance and commitment, Coronavirus anxiety, Death anxiety

Full-Text [PDF 303 kb] (356 Downloads)

Type of Study: Original Research Article | Subject: Psychology

References

1. Breslau J, AguilarGaxiola S, Borges G, Castilla Puentes RC, Kendler KS, Medina–Mora ME, et al. Mental disorders among Englishspeaking Mexican immigrants to the US compared to a national sample of Mexicans. Psychiatry Res. 2007;151(1–2):115–22. [DOI]

2. King TL. Young carers in the COVID–19 pandemic: risks for mental health. Lancet Reg Health West Pac. 2021;16:100307. [DOI]

3. Najari M, Bibak F, Khezernezhad A, Khezernezhad A, Mamghaderi K. Covid–19 anxiety in teachers of the University of Applied Science and Technology: the effect of job satisfaction and work engagement. Occupational Medicine Quarterly Journal. 2022;13(4):17–24.

4. Cure E, Cumhur Cure M. Angiotensin–converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers may be harmful in patients with diabetes during COVID–19 pandemic. Diabetes Metab Syndr. 2020;14(4):349–50. [DOI]

5. Alipour A, Ghadami A, Alipour Z, Abdollahzadeh H. Preliminary validation of the Corona Disease Anxiety Scale (CDAS) in the Iranian sample. Health Psychology. 2020;8(32):163–75. [Persian] [DOI]

6. Lee SA, Jobe MC, Mathis AA, Gibbons JA. Incremental validity of corona phobia: coronavirus anxiety explains depression, generalized anxiety, and death anxiety. J Anxiety Disord. 2020;74:102268. [DOI]

7. Khodabakhshi Koolaee A, Froozani AF. A comparison between loneliness and death anxiety among active and inactive elderly male living in nursing homes in Yazd. Nursing Journal of the vulnerable. 2018;5(3):1–15. [Persian]

8. Kashefi F, Haj Abutalebi N. Prediction of anxiety caused by the corona virus (Covid–19) based on psychological distress and death anxiety at the same time as influenza and corona virus on the eve of the cold season. New Advances in Behavioral Sciences. 2022;6(54):161–73. [Persian] [Article]

9. Mirzaeidoostan Z, Zargar Y, Zandi Payam A. The effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on death anxiety and mental health in women with HIV in Abadan city, Iran. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology. 2019;25(1):2–13. [Persian] [DOI]

10. Ahmadi V, Valizadeh H. The effectiveness of acceptance and commitment–based therapy on the quality of life and death anxiety in the elderly. Aging Psychology. 2021;7(2):153–66. [Persian] [Article]

11. Zamani F. The effectiveness of treatment based on acceptance and commitment on corona stress, corona anxiety and psychological distress in drug addicts. New Advances in Behavioral Sciences. 2021;6(54):510–23. [Persian] [Article]

12. Osmani H, Najari M. The effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on the quality of life and marital satisfaction of mothers of deaf and hard of hearing children. New Advances in Behavioral Sciences. 2022;7(55):112–21. [Persian] [Article]

13. Thompson EM, Destree L, Albertella L, Fontenelle LF. Internet–based acceptance and commitment therapy: a transdiagnostic systematic review and meta-analysis for mental health outcomes. Behav Ther. 2021;52(2):492–507. [DOI]

14. Bai Z, Luo S, Zhang L, Wu S, Chi I. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to reduce depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord. 2020;260:728–37. [DOI]

15. Coto–Lesmes R, Fernández–Rodríguez C, González–Fernández S. Acceptance and commitment therapy in group format for anxiety and depression. a systematic review. J Affect Disord. 2020;263:107–20. [DOI]

16. Delavar A. Educational and psychological research. Tehran: Virayesh Pub; 2009. [Persian]

17. Eyni S, Ebadi M, Hashemi Z. Corona anxiety in nurses: the predictive role of perceived social support and sense of coherence. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology. 2020;26(3):320–31. [Persian] [DOI]

18. Templer DI. The construction and validation of a Death Anxiety Scale. J Gen Psychol. 1970;82(2d Half):165–77. [DOI]

19. Rajabi GR, Bohrani M. Item factor analysis of the Death Anxiety Scale. Journal of Psychology. 2002;5(4):331–44. [Persian]

20. Hayes L, Boyd CP, Sewell J. Acceptance and commitment therapy for the treatment of adolescent depression: a pilot study in a psychiatric outpatient setting. Mindfulness. 2011;2(2):86–94. [DOI]

21. Wolitzky-Taylor KB, Arch JJ, Rosenfield D, Craske MG. Moderators and non–specific predictors of treatment outcome for anxiety disorders: a comparison of cognitive behavioral therapy to acceptance and commitment therapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 2012;80(5):786–99. [DOI]

22. Akhlaghi Jami L, Ahadi H, Hasani–Abharian P, Kakavand A. Comparing the effects of acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive rehabilitation treatment on stress and anxiety in female high schoolers. Middle Eastern Journal of Disability Studies. 2021;11:15. [Persian] [Article]

23. Meherali S, Punjani N, Louie–Poon S, Abdul Rahim K, Das JK, Salam RA, et al. mental health of children and adolescents amidst COVID–19 and past pandemics: a rapid systematic review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(7):3432. [DOI]

24. Duan L, Shao X, Wang Y, Huang Y, Miao J, Yang X, et al. An investigation of mental health status of children and adolescents in china during the outbreak of COVID–19. J Affect Disord. 2020;275:112–8. [DOI]

25. Rahmati A, Khajouei Mirzadeh A. The prevalence of coronavirus anxiety: risk factors and protectors in students and staff of Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman. Health Psychology. 2021;10(39):85–104. [Persian] [DOI]

26. Pourfarahani M, Barabadi HA, Heidarnia A. The effectiveness of acceptance and commitment group therapy in the social anxiety of adolescent orphan girls. Quarterly Journal of Social Work. 2020;8(4):5–13. [Persian] [Article]

27. Shafiee Amiri M, Abbasi G, Fakhri MK. The effects of acceptance and commitment therapy on cognitive evaluation, death anxiety, experimental avoidance, and emotional expression in nurses. Middle Eastern Journal of Disability Studies. 2020;10:220. [Persian] [Article]

28. Safari Mousavi SS, Ghazanfari F, Mirderikvandi F. Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on death anxiety in women with multiple sclerosis in Khorramabad. Journal of Clinical Nursing and Midwifery. 2019;7(4):234–41. [Persian] [Article]

29. Hajsadeghi Z, Bassak Nejad S, Razmjoo S. The effectiveness of acceptance and commitment group therapy on depression and anxiety among women with breast cancer. Pajouhan Scientific Journal. 2017;15(4):42–9. [Persian] [Article]