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The Effectiveness of Group Therapies—Emotional Freedom Techniques, Adolescent-Centered Mindfulness Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy—on Cognitive Errors in Adolescents with Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Psychology, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran

2 Department of Psychology, Isf.C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran

10.30476/smsj.2026.104200.1566

Abstract

Introduction: The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of three group therapies—emotional freedom techniques (EFT), adolescent-centered mindfulness therapy (ACMT), and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)—on cognitive errors in adolescents exhibiting symptoms of disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD).  
Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with a control group and a two-month follow-up period. The statistical population comprised all adolescents aged 15-18 years with symptoms of DMDD in the high schools of NajafAbad County (Iran) during the 2024 academic year. Through purposive sampling, 600 students from four secondary schools in the Second Education District were screened using the DMDD Questionnaire (Laporte et al.). From this initial pool, 80 students diagnosed with DMDD were randomly assigned to three experimental groups (n=20 each) and one control group (n=20). Participants in the experimental groups attended parallel and concurrent group therapy sessions for EFT, ACMT, and DBT, respectively, while the control group received no intervention. The measurement instrument was the cognitive errors questionnaire (Quinn & Dozois). Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Bonferroni post hoc test via SPSS software, version 26. 
Results: The first major finding indicated that all three group therapy approaches (EFT, ACMT, and DBT) were effective in reducing cognitive errors in adolescents with symptoms of DMDD compared to the control group (P<0.01). The second finding, comparing the effectiveness of therapeutic approaches, revealed no significant difference among the three interventions at the post-test stage. However, at the two-month follow-up, DBT group demonstrated significantly greater effectiveness than the other two approaches (P<0.05). The effects of all interventions remained generally stable over time (P<0.01).
Conclusion: The results of the study demonstrated that EFT, ACMT, and DBT group therapies were equally effective in reducing cognitive errors in adolescents with DMDD in the short term. However, over time, DBT exhibited a more sustained and powerful effect. Therefore, the use of the DBT approach is particularly recommended for adolescents with DMDD in medical and educational service centers.

Keywords

References
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Sadra Medical Journal

Articles in Press, Corrected Proof
Available Online from 18 May 2026
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