Effectiveness of Treatment Based on Acceptance and Commitment on Emotional Impairment and Cognitive Avoidance in Students with Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of treatment based on the acceptance and commitment on emotional impairment and cognitive avoidance in students with generalized anxiety disorder. The present semi experimental study included pre-test, post-test with the control group design. The statistical population of this study consisted of all female students of second stage high school in Taybad city in the academic year of 2018-2019. After initial assessment using GAD scale, a total of 30 female students were selected using purposeful sampling and randomly assigned into an experimental group of15 and a control group of 15. The experimental group received eight 90-minute sessions of ACT program. In order to gather data, alexithymia scale Bagby, Taylor & Parker and cognitive avoidance questionnaire Sexton & Dugas, were used. Analysis of covariance was used to analyze data. Findings from this research showed a significant difference between the mean posttest scores of the experimental and control groups in emotional impairment and its components (difficulties with identifying feelings, difficulties with describing feelings, and externally oriented thinking) and the cognitive avoidance and its components (thoughts repression, thought replacement, distraction, threatening stimuli and changing image to thought). Considering the results of this research, it is suggested that the psychologists and psychotherapists can use the results of this study to reduce emotional impairment and cognitive avoidance in students with GAD.

Keywords

• acceptance and commitment
• cognitive avoidance
• emotional impairment
• generalized anxiety disorder