Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 MSc in Clinical Psychology, Islamic Azad University of Shiraz, Shiraz, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Islamic Azad University of Firoozabad, Firoozabad, Iran
Abstract
Introduction: Students are considered valuable assets and key members of society, playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of the country. Given the prevalence of emotional fluctuations, anxiety, and worry among students, this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral training on meta-worry and social adjustment of University students.
Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test, and control group. The statistical population included all undergraduate students enrolled in 2022 at the Islamic Azad University, Kerman Branch. A total of 72 students were selected through a multi-stage cluster sampling method and randomly assigned to two groups of 36. The intervention group received cognitive-behavioral training in nine sessions, each lasting 60 to 90 minutes. The research instruments included Wells’ Meta-Worry Questionnaire and Bell’s Adjustment Inventory. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA).
Results: The results indicated a significant difference between the mean scores of meta-worry and social adjustment in the experimental and control groups during the post-test phase, with a 95% confidence level (P<0.05). Cognitive behavioral training led to a 13.06% reduction in meta-worry scores and a 19.87% increase in social adjustment scores in the experimental group.
Conclusion: Cognitive behavioral training could be effectively utilized to reduce psychological issues among students and enhance their social adjustment.
Keywords
- Schmidt CK, Welsh AC. College adjustment and subjective well-being when coping with a family member’s illness. Journal of Counseling & 2010;88(4):397-406. doi: 10.1002/j.1556-6678.2010.tb00039.x.
- Shah JK, Sharma B. A study on Social Maturity, School Adjustment and Academic achievement among residential school girls. Journal of Education and Practice. 2012;3(7):69-80.
- Tao S, Dong Q, Pratt MW, Hunsberger B, Pancer SM. Social support: Relations to coping and adjustment during the transition to university in the People’s Republic of China. Journal of Adolescent research. 2000;15(1):123-44 doi: 10.1177/0743558400151007.
- Dilekmen M. Orientation program and adaptation of university students. Psychol Rep. 2007;101(3 Pt 2):1141-4. Doi: 10.2466/pr0.101.4.1141-1144
- Joussemet M, Koestner R, Lekes N, Landry R. A longitudinal study of the relationship of maternal autonomy support to children’s adjustment and achievement in school. J Pers. 2005;73(5):1215-35 doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2005.00347.x.
- Myhr P, Hursti T, Emanuelsson K, Lofgren E, Hjemdal O. Can the Attention Training Technique Reduce Stress in Students? A Controlled Study of Stress Appraisals and Meta-Worry. Front Psychol. 2019;10:1532.
- Esbjorn BH, Lonfeldt NN, Nielsen SK, Reinholdt-Dunne ML, Somhovd MJ, Cartwright-Hatton S. Meta-worry, worry, and anxiety in children and adolescents: relationships and interactions. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2015;44(1):145-56.
- Spada MM, Gay H, Nikčevic AV, Fernie BA, Caselli G. Meta‐cognitive beliefs about worry and pain catastrophising as mediators between neuroticism and pain behaviour. Clinical Psychologist. 2016;20(3):138-46. doi 10.1111/cp.12081:
- Mondal C. A Comparative Study on Social Adjustment within Rural and Urban Adolescent Students. International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts. 2021;9(2).
- Sujana SA, Jaya HP, Fiftinova F. Social adjustment and academic achievement of EFL students at higher education. The Journal of English Literacy Education: The Teaching and Learning of English as a Foreign Language. 2021;8(2):138-49. doi: 10.36706/jele.v8i2.14328
- Patel SA, Jansari A. Social adjustment of student’s in context with gender and habitat. International Journal of Indian Psychȯ 2019;7(4).
- Mootabi F, Fata L. On Becoming A Cognitive Behavioral Therapist. Tehran: Danzhe; 2020. [Persian].
- Hamidpour H, Dolatshai B, Shahbaz AP, Dadkhah A. The efficacy of schema therapy in treating women’s Generalized Anxiety disorder. Iranian journal of psychiatry and clinical psychology. 2011;4(16):420-31.
- Otte C. Cognitive behavioral therapy in anxiety disorders: current state of the evidence. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2011;13(4):413-21.
- Boivin J. A review of psychosocial interventions in infertility. Soc Sci Med. 2003;57(12):2325-41.
- van Loenen I, Scholten W, Muntingh A, Smit J, Batelaan N. The Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Exposure-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Severe Anxiety Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Meta-analysis. J Med Internet Res. 2022;24(2):e26736.
- Wood JJ. Effect of anxiety reduction on children’s school performance and social adjustment. Dev Psychol. 2006;42(2):345-9.
- Wells A, Davies MI. The Thought Control Questionnaire: a measure of individual differences in the control of unwanted thoughts. Behav Res Ther. 1994;32(8):871-8.
- Fata L, Mootabi F, Moludi R, Ziaee K. Psychometric features of the Persian version of the Thought Control Questionnaire and Anxiety Thoughts Questionnaire in Iranian students. Journal of Psychological Methods and Models. 2010;1(1):81-103. [Persian].
- Salmani B, Hasani J, Mohammad-Khani S, Karami GR. The efficacy of metacognitive therapy on metacognitive beliefs, metaworry and the signs and symptoms of patients with generalized anxiety disorder. Feyz Medical Sciences Journal. 2014;18(5):428-39.
- Bell B. Manual for the Adjustment Inventory Form Consulating Psychologists press. California: Ploalto; 1961.
- Mahmoodi A, Hadizade Kafash R. The effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral group training on students’ adaptation. Tehran: National Congress of Social Psychology of Iran; 2016. [Persian].
- Michaeli Manee F, Madadi Emamzadeh Z. Study of relationship between emotional-social intelligence with social adjustment among students with disciplinary commandment and their comparison students without it in urumia university. Journal of Modern Psychological Researches. 2008;3(11):99-121.
- Leahy RL. Schematic mismatch in the therapeutic relationship: A social-cognitive model. The therapeutic relationship in the cognitive behavioral psychotherapies: Routledge; 2007. p. 229-54.
- Wolgensinger L. Cognitive behavioral group therapy for anxiety: recent developments. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2015;17(3):347-51.doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2015.17.3/lwolgensinger
- Siyahi A. Effectiveness of stress management skill training (cognitive-behavioral) on reducing anxiety and metaworry of conditional students. [Thesis]. Kerman: Shahid Bahonar University; 2018. [Persian].
- Shahbazirad A, Kadampour E, Ghazanfari F, Momeni Kh. The effectiveness of training based on the cognitive, metacognitive, and behavioral codification model on reducing the symptoms of social anxiety disorder. Clinical Psychology Studies. 2017;24:47-61.
- Antoni MH, Lechner SC, Kazi A, Wimberly SR, Sifre T, Urcuyo KR, et al. How stress management improves quality of life after treatment for breast cancer. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2006;74(6):1143-52.
- Akhteh M, Alipor A, Sarifi Saki S. Effectiveness of stress management training in reducing anxiety and meta-worry of women who had abortion several times. Health Psychology. 2014;3(11):120-9. [Persian].
- Mahmoudi Eshkaftaki F, Ghazanfari A, Solati K. The purpose of this Study was to Investigate the Effectiveness of Social and Communication Skills Training using Cognitive-Behavioral Approach on Social Adjustment and Academic Resilience in Shahrekord State Universities Female Students with Martyred and Veteran Parents. Journal of Analitical-Cognitive Psycholoy. 2021;12:165-76. [Persian].
- Taqipour HA, Ghafari M, SamDeliri A, Farzi F. The Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Training on Reducing Students’ Anxiety and Social Adjustment. Journal of Psychological Research. 2014;24(6):43-57. [Persian].
- Mazaheri A, Baghban I, Fatehizade M. The Effect of Self-esteem Group Training on the level of Social Adjustment of Students. Journal of Shahed University. 2006;16(13):49-56. [Persian].
- Leahy RL. The therapeutic relationship in cognitive-behavioral therapy. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy. 2008;36(6):769-77 doi: 10.1017/S1352465808004852.
)