The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on the Improving of Resilience and Optimism in Adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder
Negin Towsyfyan, Farideh Hossein Sabet
Abstract
Background and Objective: In today's society, depression is one of the most prevalent types of psychological
disorders which is also so common among adolescents. The goal of this research was the study of effectiveness of
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on the improving of resilience and optimism in adolescents with
major depressive disorder. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted semi-experimentally with pretestposttest
control group design and two months follow up period. According to the inclusion criteria 16 adolescent
girls with major depressive disorder was selected through availability sampling and then randomly assigned into
two experimental and control eight member groups. In order to evaluate the variables, Connor-Davidson
Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) were applied. Adolescents in
experimental group were treated by Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in eight sessions, each lasted 60-90
minutes. Data were analyzed by using the SPSS-23 software and analysis of variance with repeated measures
statistical method. Results: The findings showed that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy has had significant
effect on the improving of resilience and optimism. This also persisted in the follow up period. Conclusion:
According to the results of this research, the use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in order to improve
resilience and optimism in adolescents with major depressive disorder is recommended to all psychologists,
consultants and psychiatrists of private and governmental treatment centers, and also consultants of schools and
educational centers.
Full Text: PDF