Evaluating the Efficacy of Schema Therapy for Subclinical Depression in Adolescent Girls: A Focus on Cognitive Emotion Regulation and Avoidance
نویسندگان
1 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tonekabon Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon, Iran.
2 Director of Mental Health Institute, Hese Zendegi, Tehran, Iran
3 Department of Medical Sciences, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran.
4 Department of Psychology, Tonekabon Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon, Iran
doi
10.22037/ijabs.v11i4.46369چکیده
Background and Aim:Depression is a common disorder among adolescents with far-reaching consequences. The issues and problems that teenagers face during adolescence make them prone to depression, and having components such as emotional failure, cognitive regulation of emotion, and cognitive avoidance increases their vulnerability. The present study aimed to investigate the efficacy of schema therapy on cognitive emotion regulation and cognitive avoidance in subclinical depressed adolescent girls in Tonekabon City. Materials and Methods:It is an experimental study with a pre-test-post-test and a control group design. The population consisted of all female adolescent students in the eleventh and twelfth grades of high school with subclinical depression in the academic year 2023-2024. The sampling method was random. Then, 30 individuals were randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group. For eight weeks, the experimental group received one 90-minute schema therapy session per week, while the control group received no treatment. Both groups were subsequently given a post-test. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), and univariate ANCOVA using SPSS version 25. Results:The findings indicated a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of the average variables of cognitive regulation of emotion and cognitive avoidance (η² = 0.735, p< 0.01, F (2, 21) = 64.75). This difference was in favor of the treatment groups based on the adjusted means. Conclusion:According to the results of this study, this treatment can increase cognitive regulation of positive emotion and decrease negative cognitive regulation and cognitive avoidance of adolescent girls. In explaining the research findings, we can say that the schema is the highest generalized level of cognition, which is resistant to change and has a profound and powerful effect on a person's cognitions and emotions. Negative spontaneous thoughts and their underlying intersubjective assumptions are influenced by schemas and this influence is particularly powerful when schemas are activated
