Background: Studies have shown that gastroesophageal reflux is one of the most common disorders of the gastrointestinal system, which can have a negative effect on the mental health of patients. The effectiveness of treatment based on acceptance and commitment has been investigated for many psychological disorders in various strata, but in internal studies, the effectiveness of this approach in patients with gastroesophageal reflux has not been investigated.
Aims: The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of treatment based on acceptance and commitment on anxiety, alexithymia and adherence to treatment in adolescent girls with gastrointestinal reflux.
Methods: The present research method was semi-experimental with a pre test-post test design with a control group. The statistical population of the study included all adolescent girls suffering from gastroesophageal reflux who referred to Thar-Allah Karaj Hospital in 2023, Among them, 30 people were selected by the purposeful sampling method and randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. The experimental group was trained in 8 sessions of therapy based on acceptance and commitment, but the control group did not receive any intervention. In order to collect data, Beck Anxiety Questionnaire (Beck & Steer, 1990), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (Bagby et al., 1994) and the eight-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (Morisky et al., 2008) were used. One-way analysis of covariance and SPSS-22 software were also used for data analysis.
Results: The results of the present study showed that after adjusting the pre-test scores between the groups, the post-test scores had a significant difference between the test and control groups (P< 0.05). Also, the results showed that the treatment based on acceptance and commitment significantly reduced the level of anxiety and alexithymia in the participants (P< 0.05). Also, the results showed that the treatment used led to an increase in adherence to the treatment in the members of the experimental group (P< 0.05).
Conclusion: According to the findings of the present study, it is suggested that specialists (doctors, psychiatrists, and psychologists) use this method of treatment along with drug therapy in order to reduce psychological pressure on people with psychosomatic disorders, especially Gastroesophageal reflux.