@2024 Afarand., IRAN

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ISSN: 2383-2150    Journal of Education and Community Health 2018;4(4):32-38

Background
Generalized anxiety disorder is a chronic anxiety state characterized by severe and uncontrollable anxiety and its physical-psychological symptoms.
Previous Studies
... [1-5]. According to the results of studies, generalized anxiety disorder is the most common anxiety disorder in Iran [6, 7]. ... [8-12]. Concerning the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy, controversial results have been obtained and some interventional studies have been effective on cognitive-behavioral therapy and others were ineffective. Few studies have been carried out on interventions based on the acceptance and commitment method [4, 13, 14]. The purpose of treatment through acceptance and commitment is to strengthen psychological flexibility instead of change or frequency of disturbing thoughts and emotions.
Aim(s)
This study aimed to investigate the effect of an integrated cognitive-behavioral, acceptance, and commitment intervention on generalized anxiety disorder among students of Islamic Azad University of Toyserkan, Iran.
Research type
This research was an interventional study with pre-test post-test design.
Research society, place and time
This study was conducted on students referring to the counseling center of Toyserkan Azad University to receive counseling services.
Sampling method and number
The intervention group was selected from the students referring to the counseling center of the university, who were suspected with generalized anxiety disorder (DSM5) diagnosed by a psychiatrist, and available 20 students were selected. It is worth noting that two students refused to continue to cooperate with the research team. At first, the students were informed about the study objectives and design and they were included in the study with their willingness. The inclusion criteria included: no other psychological disorders, no drug use or other psychological treatment and no drug abuse. Exclusion criteria were also unwillingness of the subjects to continue to collaborate with the research team.
Used devices&materials
A two-section questionnaire was used to collect participants' information in two phases of pre-test and post-test. Participants completed the self-reported questionnaire. The first section included demographic information including age, gender, education, marital status, occupation, and place of residence. The second section of the questionnaire included questions about measuring generalized anxiety disorder. The 21-item Beck Anxiety Inventory was used for measuring generalized anxiety disorder [15]. Validity and reliability of this questionnaire have been reported in Iranian studies appropriate and acceptable [16]. In this study, for intervention, Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention (Dugas; 2007) [17] and acceptance and commitment (Michel Towhig; 2007) [18] were conducted in 12 educational sessions. Accordingly, six sessions of cognitive-behavioral intervention were initially implemented and six sessions were devoted to the implementation of acceptance and commitment intervention. To analyze the data, SPSS 16 software and paired t-test and Chi-square test were used.
Findings by Text
Based on the results, the mean and standard deviation of the participants in the study was 22.33±5.16 years, 77.8% of the participants were female, 72.2% lived in urban areas, 38.9% of the participants were studying humanities and 61.1% of them were single. Other demographic information of the participants in the study is presented in Table 1. Based on the results of Table 3, the mean and standard deviation of the participants' anxiety in the study after the integrated intervention (cognitive-behavioral and acceptance and commitment) decreased by 8.27±3.25%. The results of paired t-test showed that there was a significant difference between the mean of participants' anxiety in the study before and after the integrated educational intervention (P<0.001). Based on the results of Table 4, before the educational intervention, 94.4% of the participants had severe generalized anxiety, which decreased to 11.1% after the intervention. In other words, after intervention, the level of anxiety of 83.3% of students was reduced to the moderate level, which according to McNemar test was statistically significant (p<0.001).
Main comparison to the similar studies
The mean of participants' anxiety in the study after the implementation of the integrated intervention decreased. These findings are consistent with the results of some similar studies [8, 14, 19]; ... [20]. Also, the results of Izadi et al. study on the effect of cognitive-behavioral intervention and acceptance and commitment on the symptoms of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder showed that the use of this integrated intervention led to a reduction in symptoms of Obsessive-compulsive disorder in patients [21]. Moreover, the findings of this study showed that after intervention, the level of anxiety decreased in 83.3% of students from severe to moderate, which is consistent with the results of some similar studies [19].
Suggestions
Similar studies are recommended in other population groups that are vulnerable to mental disorders (such as addicted or divorced people).
Limitations
One of the limitations of this study is its single-group design.
Conclusions
As the findings of the present study indicated, the integrated intervention was effective in the mitigation of generalized anxiety disorder symptoms among the students and as cognitive-behavioral intervention, acceptance and commitment intervention reduces the symptoms of anxiety disorder in patients.
Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful to the efforts and cooperation of the officials and students of the Islamic Azad University, Toyserkan branch.
Conflict of interest
None declared.
Ethical Permissions
None declared.
Funding Sources
None declared.

TABLES and CHARTS

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