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Volume 24, Issue 147 (5-2025)
Journal of Psychological Science 2025, 24(147): 325-341 |
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Baharan N, Mousavi asli S A, Amini N. (2025). The Efficacy of Compassion-Focused Therapy on Worry and Self-Criticism in Female-Headed Households with Social Anxiety Disorder. Journal of Psychological Science. 24(147), 325-341. doi:10.61186/jps.24.147.325
URL: http://psychologicalscience.ir/article-1-2935-en.html
URL: http://psychologicalscience.ir/article-1-2935-en.html
Department Of Psychology, Bu.C., Islamic Azad University ،Bushehr ،Iran. , Asghar.mousavi@iau.ac.ir
Abstract: (33 Views)
Background: Social anxiety disorder in female-headed households is often accompanied by excessive worry and chronic self-criticism, significantly impairing daily functioning. Although compassion-focused therapy (CFT) has demonstrated efficacy in treating anxiety disorders, its specific effects on worry and self-criticism in this vulnerable population—factors clearly linked to the persistence of social anxiety—remain unexplored.
Aims: This study aimed to examine the efficacy of CFT in reducing worry and self-criticism among female-headed households with social anxiety disorder.
Methods: The study employed a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with a control group and a two-month follow-up. The statistical population consisted of all female-headed households receiving support from the Welfare Organization of Andimeshk County. The sample included 30 women selected through purposive sampling based on inclusion/exclusion criteria and randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. The experimental group received eight 60-minute sessions of CFT (Saeedi & Khalatbari, 2020), while the control group received no intervention. Data were collected using the Social Anxiety Questionnaire (Connor et al., 2000), Penn State Worry Questionnaire (Meyer & Miller, 1990), and Self-Criticism Scale (Gilbert et al., 2007). Data analysis was performed using SPSS-27, employing mixed-design repeated-measures ANOVA.
Results: The findings indicated that CFT significantly reduced worry and self-criticism in female-headed households with social anxiety disorder (p < .01). The therapeutic effects were maintained at the two-month follow-up.
Conclusion: Compassion-focused therapy can serve as an effective intervention for reducing worry and self-criticism in female-headed households with social anxiety disorder. Given the sustained effects observed after the follow-up period, CFT is recommended as a stable and impactful treatment in counseling centers and psychotherapy clinics for this vulnerable group.
Aims: This study aimed to examine the efficacy of CFT in reducing worry and self-criticism among female-headed households with social anxiety disorder.
Methods: The study employed a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with a control group and a two-month follow-up. The statistical population consisted of all female-headed households receiving support from the Welfare Organization of Andimeshk County. The sample included 30 women selected through purposive sampling based on inclusion/exclusion criteria and randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. The experimental group received eight 60-minute sessions of CFT (Saeedi & Khalatbari, 2020), while the control group received no intervention. Data were collected using the Social Anxiety Questionnaire (Connor et al., 2000), Penn State Worry Questionnaire (Meyer & Miller, 1990), and Self-Criticism Scale (Gilbert et al., 2007). Data analysis was performed using SPSS-27, employing mixed-design repeated-measures ANOVA.
Results: The findings indicated that CFT significantly reduced worry and self-criticism in female-headed households with social anxiety disorder (p < .01). The therapeutic effects were maintained at the two-month follow-up.
Conclusion: Compassion-focused therapy can serve as an effective intervention for reducing worry and self-criticism in female-headed households with social anxiety disorder. Given the sustained effects observed after the follow-up period, CFT is recommended as a stable and impactful treatment in counseling centers and psychotherapy clinics for this vulnerable group.
Keywords: social anxiety, worry, self-criticism, compassion-focused therapy, female-headed households.
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2025/04/7 | Accepted: 2025/05/10 | Published: 2025/05/22
Received: 2025/04/7 | Accepted: 2025/05/10 | Published: 2025/05/22
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This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) License. |
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)