Comparing the Effectiveness of Self-determination Training with Emotional Schema Therapy on Symptoms of Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Eating Disorders, and Social Anxiety in Bariatric Surgery Applicants

Gholami , Sina; Ghadampour , Ezatolah; Zolfaghari , Negar; Nazemi Bojandi , Maryam; Omidi Moghadam , Elham; Sisakhti , Tayebeh

Volume 15 - Articles-1404 MEJDS (2025) 15: 22 | Back to browse issues page

Ethics code: IR.IAU.CTB.REC.1402.74

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Gholami S, Ghadampour E, Zolfaghari N, Nazemi Bojandi M, Omidi Moghadam E, Sisakhti T. Comparing the Effectiveness of Self-determination Training with Emotional Schema Therapy on Symptoms of Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Eating Disorders, and Social Anxiety in Bariatric Surgery Applicants. MEJDS 2025; 15 (0) :22-22
URL: http://jdisabilstud.org/article-1-3562-en.html

Comparing the Effectiveness of Self-determination Training with Emotional Schema Therapy on Symptoms of Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Eating Disorders, and Social Anxiety in Bariatric Surgery Applicants

Sina Gholami ^*¹

, Ezatolah Ghadampour²

, Negar Zolfaghari³

, Maryam Nazemi Bojandi⁴

, Elham Omidi Moghadam⁵

, Tayebeh Sisakhti⁶

1- Master’s degree in Psychometrics, Department of Psychology, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2- Full Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran
3- Master’s degree in General Psychology, Department of Psychology, West Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
4- Master’s degree in Educational Psychology, Department of Psychology, Rudehen Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rudehen, Iran
5- Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, Rudehen Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rudehen, Iran
6- Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, Firuzabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Fars, Iran

Abstract: (324 Views)

Abstract
Background & Objectives: Today, obesity has become one of the most important health problems in the world, especially in developed countries. Research has reported a prevalence of 18.1% to 27.6% for eating disorders, a 57% prevalence for body dysmorphic disorder, and a 59% prevalence of social anxiety disorder symptoms in obese individuals seeking bariatric surgery. Obesity is associated not only with physical illness but also with mental health problems, including depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, psychosocial distress, and poor quality of life (3–5). Therefore, the treatment of obesity is crucial to minimize psychological disability and even future death. Treatment options for morbid obesity include pharmacologic interventions, low–calorie diets, behavioral modification, exercise, and surgery. Considering the psychological harms of bariatric surgery applicants, many approaches have been developed to reduce these psychological problems. Two of these interventions are self–determination training and emotional schema therapy. Accordingly, this study aimed to compare the effectiveness of self–determination training with emotional schema therapy on symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder, eating disorders, and social anxiety in bariatric surgery applicants.
Methods: The present study was a quasi–experimental research method with a pretest–posttest design and a control group. All applicants for bariatric surgery who visited cosmetic and bariatric surgery clinics in Karaj City, Iran, in the middle six months of 2024 constituted the statistical population of this study. Using the available sampling method, five cosmetic and obesity surgery clinics were selected in this city. Subsequently, 45 eligible volunteers were included in the study using a purposive sampling method. These individuals were randomly assigned to two experimental and one control group (15 people in each group). The first experimental group received steps to the self–determination training package (Field & Hoffman, 1994), and the second group received the emotional schema therapy protocol (Leahy, 2015). The third group was the control group, which received no intervention. It should be noted that the control group met at the training site (in a different room from the experimental groups) and read and reviewed books. At the beginning of the study, the subjects in all three groups completed the Body Dysmorphic Concern Questionnaire (Oosthuizen et al., 1998), the Eating Attitude Questionnaire (Garner et al., 1982), and the Social Anxiety Inventory (Connor et al., 2000). They also completed all three questionnaires after the end of the interventions. Data analysis was performed at two levels: descriptive and inferential. Descriptive statistics indicators such as mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage were used at the descriptive level. Univariate analysis of covariance and Bonferroni post hoc test were used at the inferential level. Data were analyzed at a significance level 0.05 using SPSS software version 28.
Results: Regarding the univariate analysis of covariance, the differences between the experimental and control groups in all three variables, including body dysmorphic disorder (p<0.001), eating disorders (p<0.001), and social anxiety disorder (p<0.001) were significant in the posttest phase. The results of the Bonferroni post hoc test showed that emotional schema therapy had a greater effect than self–determination training on reducing symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder (p=0.005), eating disorders (p=0.004), and social anxiety disorder (p=0.002).
Conclusion: Emotional schema therapy and self–determination training are interventions that are effective in reducing symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder, eating disorders, and social anxiety disorder in candidates for bariatric surgery. Comparatively, emotional schema therapy has a greater effect on reducing the symptoms of these disorders.

Keywords: Self–determination training, Eating disorders, Social anxiety, Body dysmorphic disorder, Emotional schema therapy, Bariatric surgery applicants

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Type of Study: Original Research Article | Subject: Psychology

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