ARTICLE INFO

Article Type

Original Research

Authors

Sadri Damirchi   E. (* )
Agazadehasl   M. (1)






(* ) Educational Sciences Department, Educational Sciences & Psychology Faculty, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran
(1) Human Sciences Faculty, Urmia Branch, Islamic Azad University, Urmia, Iran

Correspondence

Address: Educational Sciences & Psychology Faculty, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Daneshgah Street, Ardabil, Iran
Phone: +98 (45) 31505645
Fax: +98 (45) 33520457
e.sadri@uma.ac.ir

Article History

Received:  April  20, 2016
Accepted:  January 21, 2017
ePublished:  March 25, 2017

BRIEF TEXT


… [1-3]. Stress is one of the important factors in exacerbation and recurrence of symptoms of multiple sclerosis [4]. Not only chronic psychological pressure damages the body against the disease, but also it affects the ability of the immune system [5]. … [6-9].

In a study, Basaknejad et al. showed that there was a significant difference between the mean score of patients in problem oriented and emotional oriented copying styles in pretest and posttest after intervention. However, no significant difference was observed in avoidance copying style before and after intervention. The results of that study indicated the effect of stress management intervention on improving the problem oriented copying style in MS patients [10]. … [11-20].

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral group therapy on copying styles of patients with multiple sclerosis.

The present study is a quasi-experimental study with pretest and posttest design with control group.

This research was conducted in 2015 among all the patients with MS who were members of the Urmia City MS Society.

A total of 80 patients were selected by simple random sampling.

A total of 80 patients were selected by simple random sampling. They were randomly divided into two experimental and control groups (40 patients each). Copying Style Questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire was designed by Andler and Parker to evaluate a variety of copying styles in stressful situations. This test include 48 five-option questions in Likert Scale (never to too much). The reliability of this test was calculated by calculating the Cronbach` alpha coefficient which was obtained 0.90, and 0.92 in problem oriented styles for girls and boys respectively, 0.85 and 0.82 in emotional oriented style for girls and boys respectively, and 0.82 and 0.85 in avoidance style for girls and boys respectively [14]. … [21]. The cognitive-behavioral group therapy is based on the Freeman Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy Practical Guide (Table 1). The study process was that a pretest of copying styles was implemented for both groups. Then, the cognitive-behavioral therapy was presented by the researcher during 8 sessions (with permission for cognitive –behavioral intervention for MS patients from Urmia MS Society) for the experimental groups. Meanwhile, the control group was not treated and it was announced that they were in the waiting list. Finally, copying style posttest was done on both groups. Statistical analysis: The results of pretest and posttest groups were analyzed by SPSS 20 software using one-dimensional covariance analysis. It should be noted that Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to examine the distribution of data. Also, in order to comply with preconditions of covariance analysis, Box tests were used for homogeneity of variance-covariance matrix and Levin test was used for the homogeneity of variance.

The age range of the participants was between 25 and 47 years old. The mean age in the experimental and control group were 34.04±5.40 and 33.85±4.60 years respectively. In terms of marital status, 22 (7 males and 15 females, 27.5%) and 58 (18 males and 40 females, 72.5%) were single and married respectively. In terms of education level, also, 30 (37.5%), 40 (50.0%), and 10 (12.5%) had below diploma, diploma, and bachelor`s degree respectively. After intervention, in the experimental group, the mean score of problem oriented copying style was increased and the mean score of emotional and avoidance oriented copying styles were decreased. Considering the pretest scores as an auxiliary variable, significant difference was observed in the posttest stage between the control and experimental groups in the problem oriented copying styles (p=0.04), emotional oriented copying style (p=0.05) and avoidance copying style (p=0.02; Table 2).

… [21, 22]. The group therapy improves the patients` condition by creating empathy, hearing, supporting, expressing feeling, and sharing experiences. Based on Lazarus and Fulkman model in the copying process, cognitive skills are the skills to solve the problem. By using an effective copying style, a person uses a cognitive skill to solve a problem. Accordingly, ways to deal with the problem are directly investigated and are usually obtained by finding suitable solutions for problems of psychological satisfaction [13]. In fact, cognitive-behavioral group therapy had an effect on the emotional copying style of MS patients. Cognitive-behavioral therapy helps one to find different solutions; thereby it helps to use the problem-oriented strategy and reduces avoidance oriented strategy. In fact, cognitive-behavioral treatment is the method by which a person learns all his or her cognitive skills to adapt to problematic interpersonal situations and thus reduces the avoidance strategies. … [23].

Similar studies are suggested as pilot projects to effectively control the disturbing variables in order to increase the generalizability of the results. Also, considering the follow-up periods in order to ensure the continuity of the therapeutic efficiency is suggested.

The limitations of this study include the inability to control all disturbing variables, fatigue, and physical weakness of the participants due to illness and lack of follow-up period.

Intervention based on cognitive-behavioral group therapy leads to increased levels of problem oriented copying styles and decreased level of emotional and avoidance oriented copying styles in MS patients.

We appreciate all patients and those who collaborated on this research.

Non-declared

In order to observe research ethics, written consent was obtained from the participants while referring to the privacy regarding the patients` issues. It was stipulated that the participants had the right to terminate their collaboration with the researcher at each stage of the research according to their willingness.

All research costs have been provided by the authors.

TABLES and CHARTS

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