The Comparison of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and the Unified Protocol in Improving Distress Tolerance in Women with Social Anxiety

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Department of Psychology, Ahv.C., Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran

2 Department of Psychology, Ramh.C., Islamic Azad University, Ramhormoz, Iran

Abstract

Background: Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), a widespread psychiatric issue, involves excessive fear of judgment and social withdrawal, which markedly diminishes quality of life. The aim of this study was to compare Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Unified Protocol (UP) in improving distress tolerance in women with SAD.
Methods: A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design, including a three-month follow-up and control group, was used. The participants comprised 45 women diagnosed with SAD in Ahvaz, Iran, during 2024, selected through convenience sampling technique and randomly allocated (simple randomization) to three groups: ACT (n=15), UP (n=15), and control (n=15). The experimental groups received eight weekly 90-minute sessions of the assigned therapy; the control group had no intervention. Distress tolerance was measured with the Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS). Analysis involved repeated-measures ANOVA, Bonferroni post-hoc tests, Shapiro-Wilk, Levene’s, and Mauchly’s tests via SPSS version 27.
Results: Both ACT and UP significantly improved distress tolerance across all subscales—Tolerance (ACT: 13.46±0.92 vs. 10.76±1.21, UP: 13.40±0.51 vs. 10.76±1.21), Absorption (ACT: 14.07±1.03 vs. 10.80±1.01, UP: 14.00±0.66 vs. 10.80±1.01), Appraisal (ACT: 28.07±0.80 vs. 22.03±1.80, UP: 27.27±1.28 vs. 22.03±1.80), and Regulation (ACT: 12.07±0.59 vs. 9.47±0.64, UP: 12.16±0.70 vs. 9.47±0.64)— as compared with the control group (all P=0.001). No significant differences were observed between the effectiveness of the two interventions. Also, follow-up assessments confirmed the sustained efficacy of both treatments.
Conclusion: Both ACT and UP are effective in enhancing distress tolerance in women with SAD, highlighting the value of transdiagnostic interventions targeting core emotional processes. These findings support their application in clinical settings to alleviate SAD symptoms.

Highlights

Fariba Hafezi: (Google Scholar)

Keywords

References

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