Investigating the Effect of Anger and Stress Management Training in Adolescents

Abstract

Background: Stress and anger are among the most common mental health problems in adolescents. The skill of coping with stress and controlling emotions is one of the vital skills in adolescence. This study aims to investigate the effect of educational intervention on anger and stress management skills in female adolescents based on social cognitive theory (SCT). Methods: The present pre-test post-test clinical trial was conducted among 12-14-year-old girls in Birjand City, Iran in 2019. One school was randomly selected as intervention and one school as control. The participants included 80 girls randomly selected and assigned to the intervention and control groups. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire investigating the effective factors on anger and stress control skills based on the SCT. The validity and reliability of this scale were confirmed by a panel of experts and Cronbach’s α was above 0.7. Questionnaires and informed consent forms were completed by participants in the pre-test stage and two months after the educational intervention. Seven training sessions were held in two months. The implementation of the project lasted for four months. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software, version 22 and t-test. Results: The results showed that the mean scores of perceived social support (P=0.003), perceived reinforcement (P=0.03), and self-control (P<0.001) increased significantly in the intervention group after the intervention. Moreover, the mean score of self-efficacy (P=0.007) changed significantly in the control group after the intervention. Conclusion: Parent training has been effective in promoting social support and perceived reinforcement. Paying attention to the role of parents, preparing a suitable training package, and using active training methods have played a role in the effectiveness of the intervention. Therefore, the application of this educational package is recommended in future related interventions and similar studies.

Keywords

• adolescents
• social cognitive theory
• anger management training
• stress