Seydeh Negar Barekat; Elham Foroozandeh; Seyed Mostafa Banitaba
Abstract
Background: Depression, a prevalent psychological disorder, significantly impacts emotional regulation and cognitive avoidance in the academic and professional performance of students. This study compares two interventions, behavioral activation and mindfulness-based, to improve emotional balance and ...
Read More
Background: Depression, a prevalent psychological disorder, significantly impacts emotional regulation and cognitive avoidance in the academic and professional performance of students. This study compares two interventions, behavioral activation and mindfulness-based, to improve emotional balance and reduce cognitive avoidance in college students experiencing depression.Methods: A quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test design with a 60-day follow-up period was used in this study. The target population comprised female students at Isfahan State University, Isfahan, Iran who exhibited depressive symptoms during the 2022-2023 academic year, and were referred to the university’s Counseling Center. A convenience sample of 45 participants was selected and randomly assigned to three groups of 15: behavioral activation, mindfulness-based intervention, and a control group. The Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE) and the Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (CAQ) were administered to all participants at three time points. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc tests in SPSS version 16.Results: The study found that both mindfulness-based interventions and behavioral activation significantly improved positive emotions and reduced cognitive avoidance in college students with depressive symptoms. For the mindfulness group, positive emotions increased from 15.20±5.59 to 21.00±5.75 at the post-test and then to 18.00±2.85 at follow-up. Cognitive avoidance decreased from 84.66±8.33 to 67.60±7.93 at post-test and then remained stable at 66.93±6.28 at follow-up. The behavioral activation group showed similar trends, with positive emotions increasing from 16.00±6.49 to 19.20±7.07 at post-test and then decreasing to 18.53±5.05 at follow-up. Cognitive avoidance decreased from 80.26±11.78 to 60.93±7.07 at post-test and then increased slightly to 61.60±7.44 at follow-up (P=0.027). While both interventions were effective, behavioral activation had a more lasting impact on positive emotions (P=0.027).Conclusions: The findings of this study suggested that both behavioral activation and mindfulness-based interventions are effective in improving emotional balance and reducing cognitive avoidance in college students with depressive symptoms.
Zohreh Mazaheri; Mohammad Zare Neyestanak; Elham Foroozandeh
Abstract
Background: Infertility can be a major source of stress for women, impacting their ability to cope with challenges. This study aimed to investigate whether Bowen family therapy can improve resilience in infertile women, potentially leading to better emotional well-being and coping skills.Methods: We ...
Read More
Background: Infertility can be a major source of stress for women, impacting their ability to cope with challenges. This study aimed to investigate whether Bowen family therapy can improve resilience in infertile women, potentially leading to better emotional well-being and coping skills.Methods: We used a quasi-experimental design with pre- and post-intervention assessments and a control group. Follow-up measurements were collected two months post-intervention. The study population comprised all infertile women attending infertility centers in Isfahan, Iran, from April to June 2023. Thirty-two participants were recruited through convenience sampling and then randomly assigned to two groups (n=16 per group): an intervention group receiving Bowen family therapy and a waitlist control group. The intervention group participated in eight 90-minute (one session per week) Bowen family therapy sessions. Participants completed the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) at three time points. Repeated measures ANOVA was conducted using SPSS version 26 to analyze the data.Results: Participants in the Bowen family therapy group demonstrated improvements in several resilience measures. Scores on the hardiness and competence measure increased significantly from the pre-test (25.93±6.92) to the post-test (31.50±7.80), with gains maintained at follow-up (31.37±3.00) (P=0.010). Similar significant increases were observed in trusting one’s instincts (pre-test: 22.18±6.46; post-test: 27.43±4.66; follow-up: 26.25±3.66) (P=0.013) and positive attitude toward change (pre-test: 14.62±2.68; post-test: 18.37±3.79; follow-up: 17.12±3.63) (P=0.031). These improvements culminated in a significant rise in total resilience scores from the pre-test (77.68±15.23) to the post-test (94.62±13.84), with a follow-up mean of 90.18 (±9.77) (P=0.009). Notably, the impact of Bowen family therapy on perceived control (P=0.140) and spirituality (P=0.051) was not statistically significant (P=0.140).Conclusions: Overall, this study provides valuable evidence that supports the effectiveness of Bowen family therapy as a therapeutic approach to enhance resilience in infertile women. Tailoring interventions to address specific areas within the context of Bowen family therapy principles could be particularly beneficial for infertile women.
Mahin Tahvilian; Elham Foroozandeh; Seyed Mostafa Banitaba
Abstract
Background: Marital conflicts can exacerbate anxiety, depression, and stress in couples and adversely affect their psychological well-being. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of psychodrama and cognitive-behavioral therapy on the psychological well-being of women with marital conflicts.Methods: ...
Read More
Background: Marital conflicts can exacerbate anxiety, depression, and stress in couples and adversely affect their psychological well-being. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of psychodrama and cognitive-behavioral therapy on the psychological well-being of women with marital conflicts.Methods: This was a quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest, follow-up study with a control group. The statistical population included all the married women with marital conflicts referring to the counseling departments of cultural centers in Isfahan Municipality in 2021. Sixty women were selected as the sample by cluster sampling method and randomly assigned to two experimental groups (cognitive-behavioral therapy and psychodrama) and a control group (20 participants per group). The first experimental group underwent twelve 180-minute sessions of cognitive-behavioral therapy, while the second experimental group received twelve 180-minute sessions of psychodrama. To collect data, Psychological Well-Being Scale was used. Data analysis was performed through repeated measures ANOVA.Results: According to the results, these two methods affected the psychological well-being components of the women with marital conflicts (P<0.001). The mean±SD of psychological well-being in the post-test and follow-up stages was respectively 61.05±8.35 and 60.10±8.95 in the cognitive-behavioral therapy, and 46.15±5.87 and 45.00±5.17 in the control group. Moreover, the mean±SD of psychological well-being in the post-test and follow-up stages was respectively 65.80±7.54 and 64.67±8.22 in the psychodrama group. The results also revealed that the components of psychological well-being in the women with marital conflicts in the two experimental groups in the post-test and follow-up stages had a significant increase compared to those in the pre-test stage (P<0.001). The two methods were significantly different only in terms of the effects on environmental mastery (P<0.001). Psychodrama was found to be more effective than cognitive-behavioral therapy.Conclusions: Psychodrama and cognitive-behavioral therapy can result in positive outcomes, such as improving psychological well-being in couples therapy and marital relationships. Therefore, the use of these two interventions could be recommended to psychotherapists for improving the psychological well-being of women with marital conflicts.
