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Department of Psychology, Tonekabon Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon, Iran. , sh.abolghasemi@iau.ac.ir
Abstract: (46 Views)
Background: Parents of patients with schizophrenia are continuously exposed to chronic symptoms of the disorder, substantial caregiving burdens, and persistent negative emotions, which often lead to significant difficulties in emotional adjustment. Although Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) have been recognized as effective interventions for improving emotional adjustment and reducing psychological distress, empirical evidence comparing the effectiveness of these two approaches among parents of individuals with schizophrenia remains limited.
Aims: The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on the emotional adjustment of parents of patients with schizophrenia.
Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design with a three-month follow-up and a control group. The statistical population consisted of all parents of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia residing in Tehran in 2025 who had active case files at the Welfare Organization. A total of 60 caregiving parents (33 mothers and 27 fathers) were selected using purposive sampling and randomly assigned to three groups (n = 20 per group): Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and a control group. Participants were assessed at three time points: pretest, posttest, and follow-up. The research instrument was the Emotional Adjustment Measure developed by Rubio et al. (2007). The ACT group received a 9-session intervention based on Hayes (2004), and the CBT group received a 9-session intervention based on Beck et al. (1991). The control group received no intervention and was placed on a waiting list. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) in SPSS version 26, with the significance level set at 0.05.
Results: The findings indicated that both Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy resulted in significant improvements in emotional adjustment compared to the control group (p < 0.05). However, Bonferroni post hoc tests revealed that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy produced significantly greater improvements in emotional adjustment and demonstrated superior maintenance of treatment effects at the follow-up stage compared to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (p < 0.01).
Conclusion: Given the greater depth and durability of the effects associated with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, the use of this approach as a preferred intervention for enhancing psychological well-being and emotional adjustment among parents of patients with schizophrenia in counseling centers and psychological services is recommended.
Aims: The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on the emotional adjustment of parents of patients with schizophrenia.
Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design with a three-month follow-up and a control group. The statistical population consisted of all parents of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia residing in Tehran in 2025 who had active case files at the Welfare Organization. A total of 60 caregiving parents (33 mothers and 27 fathers) were selected using purposive sampling and randomly assigned to three groups (n = 20 per group): Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and a control group. Participants were assessed at three time points: pretest, posttest, and follow-up. The research instrument was the Emotional Adjustment Measure developed by Rubio et al. (2007). The ACT group received a 9-session intervention based on Hayes (2004), and the CBT group received a 9-session intervention based on Beck et al. (1991). The control group received no intervention and was placed on a waiting list. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) in SPSS version 26, with the significance level set at 0.05.
Results: The findings indicated that both Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy resulted in significant improvements in emotional adjustment compared to the control group (p < 0.05). However, Bonferroni post hoc tests revealed that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy produced significantly greater improvements in emotional adjustment and demonstrated superior maintenance of treatment effects at the follow-up stage compared to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (p < 0.01).
Conclusion: Given the greater depth and durability of the effects associated with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, the use of this approach as a preferred intervention for enhancing psychological well-being and emotional adjustment among parents of patients with schizophrenia in counseling centers and psychological services is recommended.
Article number: 20
Keywords: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Emotional Adjustment, Parents of Patients With Schizophrenia
References
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This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)