Evaluating the Effectiveness of Emotional Schema Therapy on Interpretation Bias (Self-Interpretation, Interpretation of Others) in Patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Pervasive anxiety disorder is the most common anxiety disorder, which is a serious concern, the main diagnostic criterion for this disorder. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of emotional schema therapy on the interpretation bias (self-explanation, interpretation of others) of patients with generalized anxiety disorder. The present study was a pilot study with a pretest-post-test and follow up with the control group. The statistical population of this study was all female students with generalized anxiety disorder in Razi University in the academic year of 2017-18. In order to implement the research, screening tests were performed. At first, girls completed Pennsylvania's worries questionnaire, then, among those who scored above 47 in this questionnaire, a structured clinical interview based on DSM-IV-TR Thirty students were diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. Then, 26 students who had the necessary criteria for entering the research were randomly selected and two groups of 13 subjects were tested and tested. The tools used in the general anxiety inventory were Spitz et al. (2006), Pennsylvania State Concern (PSWQ) May et al. (1990), and the bias between Butler and Matthews (1983). The experimental group received emotional schema therapy in 9 sessions, one and a half hours (weekly one session). At the end of the intervention, post-test and three months after the intervention, follow-up was done on two groups of experiment and control. Raw data analysis was performed using SPSS29 and descriptive and inferential tests such as multivariate and single-variable covariance analysis.
In the experimental group, there was a significant decrease in the bias of their own interpretation and others after the intervention (P <0.001). These results were maintained at the follow-up stage.
According to the results, emotional schema therapy intervention is recommended to reduce the rate of interpretation bias in patients with generalized anxiety disorder.