generalized anxiety disorder

Individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder and general anxiety suffer from attention bias. However, the lack of similar studies investigating attention bias in these groups necessiates a copmarison of attention bias between individuals with these disorders and those without.

The aim of this study was to compare attention bias among individuals exhibiting  symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder ( washers and checkers),  those with generalized anxiety disorder, and individuals without any diagnosed psychological conditions.

The methododology employed in this research is a causal-comparative (post-event) design. The statistical population of this study comprised all students enrolled at Tabriz University during the academic year 1401-1402.  To identify students with symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (based on Maudsley, 1997) and anxiety (following Beck, 1990) questionnaires were distributed using available methods. Subsequently, a purposive sampling technique was used to select 15 participants for each of the four groups: washers, checkers, anxious and  normal. Following the selection process, participants underwent the emotional Stroop test (Stroop, 1935), which included four categories of words: disgust, anxiety, checking and neutral words to assess attention bias. The collected data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with SPSS-20 software.

The findings revealed that participants in the washing group exhibited significantly longer reaction time to disgust words (P≤0.001) compared to the other three groups. Similarly, individuals in the checking group demonstrated prolonged reaction time to checking words compared to the other three groups (P≤0.001). Moreover, participants in the anxiety group displayed extended reaction times to the anxiety words compared to the other groups (P≤0.001).

Based on the findings indicating heightened attention bias among individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (washers and checkers) and generalized anxiety disorder compared to the normal group, it is recommended to implement therapeutic interventions and cognitive rehabilitation strategies  aimed at reducing attention bias in these two groups.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of compassion-enriched Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on reducing worry, rumination, and circadian sleep disorders in adolescent girls with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). 

This research employed a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test–post-test and control group structure. The statistical population included all female high school students in the city of Mashhad during the 2024–2025 academic year. Using Cochran’s formula and statistical assumptions including a 95% confidence level, an estimated proportion of 0.5, and a margin of error of 0.15, a sample size of 34 participants was determined. Sampling was conducted using an available sampling method combined with stratified random selection from five girls’ schools in District 4 of Mashhad's Department of Education. Following initial screening and administration of a diagnostic test for Generalized Anxiety Disorder, 34 eligible individuals were randomly assigned to experimental (n = 17) and control (n = 17) groups. The instruments used in this study included the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (Spitzer et al., 2016), the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (Zinbarg & Barlow, 2001), the Rumination Questionnaire (Nolen-Hoeksema & Morrow, 1991), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (1989). The experimental group received compassion-enriched Acceptance and Commitment Therapy over ten 90-minute sessions, while the control group received no intervention. Data were analysed using covariance analysis via SPSS.

Results from the analysis of covariance indicated that compassion-enriched ACT had a significant effect in reducing worry, rumination, and circadian sleep disorders in adolescent girls with Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

This intervention can be considered an effective method for reducing psychological problems associated with GAD in adolescent girls and a suitable tool for improving their quality of life.

It seems that despite the significant role of worry and uncertainty intolerance in occurrence, maintaining and intensify the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, few interventions have targeted such variables.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of schema therapy on worry states and intolerance of uncertainty in patient with generalized anxiety disorder.

The research method was a semi-experimental pretest-posttest design with a 45-day follow-up stage by control group. The study population included all people with generalized anxiety disorder referred to 40 psychological counseling centers in the 18th district of Tehran in 2023 which among those 34 cases were selected through available sampling and they were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The Experimental group received schema therapy (Young, 2008) sessions for eight 90-minutes sessions. All participants were assessed by the generalized anxiety disorder scale- 7 item (Spitzer et al, 2006), Pen state worry questionnaire (Meyer et al, 1990) and Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (Freeston et al, 1994). Data were analyzed by SPSS-24 software and MANOVA with repeated measure test.

The results demonstrated that schema therapy is effective in reducing worry states and intolerance of uncertainty (p< 0.01) and that this effect is long-lasting (p< 0.01).

According to the findings of the study, therapists and clinical specialists should consider schema therapy as an effective treatment strategy for generalized anxiety disorder.

Generalized anxiety disorder can cause a decrease of cognitive emotion regulation and an increase of worry. Therefore, the aim of this study was to comparison the effectiveness of cognitive-analytic therapy and emotional schema therapy on cognitive emotion regulation and worry of patients with generalized anxiety disorder.

Methods and Materials:

The current study was a semi-experimental with a pre-test, post-test and two month follow-up design with a control group. The statistical population of this study was all students with generalized anxiety disorder of Islamic Azad University of Ahvaz branch and Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz in 2023 year. The sample size was considered to be 20 people for each group, and these people were selected as samples after checking the inclusion criteria with the purposeful sampling method. The selected samples were randomly divided into three groups of 20 people, and the first and second experimental groups underwent 10 sessions of 90 minutes cognitive-analytical therapy and emotional schema therapy, respectivelyand the control group remained on the waiting list for training. Data were collected with questionnaires of generalized anxiety disorder (Spitzer et al., 2006), cognitive emotion regulation (Garnefski et al., 2001) and worry (Meyer et al., 1990) and with were analyzed by methods of chi-square, analysis of variance with repeated measurements and Bonferroni's post hoc test in the SPSS-26 software.

The results showed that there was no significant difference between the generalized anxiety disorder of experimental and control groups in terms of gender, educational level and age (P>0.05). Also, both methods of cognitive-analytical therapy and emotional schema therapy increased the positive strategies of cognitive emotion regulation and decreased the negative strategies of cognitive emotion regulation and worry in patients with generalized anxiety disorder, and the results remained in the follow-up phase (P<0.001). In addition, there was no significant differencebetween the two methods of cognitive-analytical therapy and emotional schema therapy in increasing the positive strategies of cognitive emotion regulation and decreasing the negative strategies of cognitive emotion regulation and worry of patients with generalized anxiety disorder (P<0.001).

The results of this study indicated the effectiveness of both methods of cognitive-analytical therapy and emotional schema therapy on increasing the positive strategies of cognitive emotion regulation and reducing the negative strategies of cognitive emotion regulation and worry in patients with generalized anxiety disorder. Therefore, counselors and therapists can use both methods to improve psychological characteristics.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of energy balance training intervention and cognitive behavioral therapy on perceived stress, generalized anxiety disorder and body mass index of deaf athletes in Semnan province. This research is a semi-experimental study with a pre-test and post-test research design with experimental and control groups. The statistical population of the research was formed by deaf athletes of Semnan province. The sampling method was purposeful, based on the criteria for entering the research, 24 people were selected and divided into 2 groups by simple random. The research questionnaires included Cohen's perceived stress (1983), Spitzer et al.'s (2006) generalized anxiety disorder questionnaire. Analysis of covariance test was used to analyze the research data. All statistical operations of the research were considered using SPSS version 25 software with a significance level of P<0.05. The results showed that after controlling for the effect of the pre-test, the difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of the two groups was significant for the variables of perceived stress, general anxiety and body mass index, and the mean scores of the energy balance and cognitive behavioral therapy group in the variables of perceived stress, general anxiety and The body mass index is also significantly lower than the energy balance group (p<0.001). Therefore, it can be said that there is a significant difference between the effect of energy balance intervention combined with cognitive behavioral therapy with energy balance on perceived stress, general anxiety and body mass index of deaf athletes in Semnan province, and combined cognitive-behavioral therapy with energy balance is more effective than treatment It has energy balance.

The present study aimed to compare the effects of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and existential Therapy (ET) on resilience among female students with generalized anxiety Disorder. The method of this study was quasi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design, with a control group and a two-month follow-up. The study's statistical population included all second-year high school female students who were studying in the schools of Karaj City in the academic year 2023-2024. In this regard, 45 students were included in the study using a purposive sampling method and randomly divided into two experimental and one control group (15 people in each group). The participants of the first (ACT) and the second (ET) experimental groups received intervention during 10 sessions (70 minutes each session). The study tools were the Connor and Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC, 2003) and the fourth edition of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GADQ-IV, Newman et al., 2002). The data were analyzed using a repeated measure analysis of variance and a Bonferroni post hoc test. The results revealed that both intervention methods of ACT and ET significantly increased resilience and reduced generalized anxiety disorder compared to (P<0.01), and this result lasted until the follow-up stage. Also, ET was more effective in increasing resilience and reducing generalized anxiety compared to ACT (P<0.01). Thus, ACT and ET can be used to increase resilience and reduce generalized anxiety disorder, but ET is preferred.

This research was conducted to predict the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder based on pain catastrophizing and disgust sensitivity with the mediation of quality of life. The correlation research method was structural equation modeling. In this study, a sample of 313 people was selected from among the students of Jundishapor University of Medical Sciences in Ahvaz city with a statistical population of 7385 people in the academic year 1402-1403 by stratified random sampling. The tools used to collect data included Spitzer et al.'s short scale of generalized anxiety disorder (2006), Sullivan et al.'s pain catastrophizing scale (1995), Hadit et al.'s disgust sensitivity scale (1994), and World Health Organization's quality of life questionnaire (1996). Data analysis and model evaluation were conducted using AMOS and SPSS software. The results of the analysis indicated the confirmation of the general model of the relationship between symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder with pain catastrophizing and disgust sensitivity with the mediation of quality of life. Also, the findings of the research, while confirming the direct effect of pain catastrophizing and disgust sensitivity on generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, showed that pain catastrophizing and disgust sensitivity were indirectly related to generalized anxiety disorder symptoms at a significance level of 0.001 through the mediation of quality of life. The results of this research indicated that these relationships can predict the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder as a model; Therefore, implementing therapeutic and educational interventions to improve these characteristics can be effective in reducing the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder.

The present research with the aim the effectiveness of neurofeedback on behavioral brain systems of patients with generalized anxiety disorder was determined. This research was a semi-experimental design. The statistical population of the research was all patients with generalized anxiety who referred to the psychiatric centers of Tabriz city in 2023 and the target sample was people who had received a definitive diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder. In order to collect data, behavioral brain systems scale and neurofeedback device were used for intervention. The collected data were analyzed through multivariate covariance analysis using SPSS software. The results showed that neurofeedback improves behavioral brain systems P<.01. Based on these findings, it is suggested that psychology and psychiatry centers use neurofeedback as an effective treatment to reduce the pervasive anxiety of patients.

Illness anxiety and generalized anxiety disorder are two relatively common disorders that, despite being in two separate diagnostic classes, have many similarities in psychological symptoms. This study was conducted to compare these two disorders in terms of distress tolerance, anxiety sensitivity, and emotional reactivity.

The present study was a case-control study. The study sample included 36 individuals with general anxiety, 36 individuals with illness anxiety, and 36 normal individuals. Data was collected using the Anxiety Sensitivity Inventory, Distress Tolerance Scale, and Emotional Reactivity Scale. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS-19 software and the analysis of variance test.

The study revealed that individuals with general anxiety and illness anxiety exhibit higher levels of anxiety sensitivity and lower distress tolerance compared to individuals without these conditions (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in emotional reactivity between the two groups (F = 0.54, P = 0.58). Additionally, the findings indicated no variance in distress tolerance between individuals with general anxiety and illness anxiety (P = 0.06). Notably, individuals with general anxiety reported higher anxiety sensitivity levels than those with illness anxiety (P > 0.5).

Although anxiety sensitivity plays a more prominent role in generalized anxiety disorder, in general, distress tolerance and anxiety sensitivity seem to be common and trans-diagnostic characteristics in psychological disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder and illness anxiety.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effectiveness and comparison of accelerated Short -Term Psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral therapy on improving ego functions in patients with generalized anxiety disorder in Tehran.

The current study was a semi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test and follow-up design with a control group. The statistical population of the study consisted of all men and women aged 25-50 in Tehran who had referred to the psychotherapy clinic due to complaints of anxiety. Among the statistical population, 60 people were selected by purposive sampling, and this number was randomly selected into two experimental groups (40 people) and a control group (20 people). Accelerated short-term dynamic psychotherapy (AEDP) was implemented for 20 people for 4 90-minute sessions and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) was implemented for 20 people for 9 70-minute sessions. In order to collect the research data, Black Ego Function Questionnaire (EFA) was used. The data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance. The significance level of statistical tests was considered 0/05.

The results obtained from the analysis of variance of repeated measures show the significant effect of short-term dynamic psychotherapy accelerated with cognitive behavioral therapy on the improvement of ego functions in patients with generalized anxiety disorder, in the post-test and follow-up phase in the experimental group. compared to the control group (P≤0.01(. According to the comparative comparison between the two educational approaches, accelerated short-term dynamic psychotherapy has been more effective than cognitive behavioral therapy on differentiation.

According to the results of this research, it can be said that one of the basic approaches in improving ego functions in patients with generalized anxiety disorder is short-term dynamic psychotherapy accelerated with cognitive behavioral therapy.

People with generalized anxiety disorder have defects in perception, regulating, and expressing their emotions. The purpose of this research was to determine the difference in facial emotion recognition and self-conscious emotions of shame and guilt between university students with generalized anxiety disorder and normal university students.

This research employed a causal-comparative design, with a statistical population of 400 students from Shahid Madani University of Azarbaijan. A group of 20 individuals exhibiting symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder was selected based on the cut-off scores of the generalized anxiety disorder scale and the structured clinical interview for diagnosing mental disorders. Another group comprising an equal number of individuals without such symptoms was also chosen. All participants underwent evaluations based on their scores in Ekman and Friesen's (1976) facial emotion recognition test and Marshall et al.'s (1994) scale measuring shame and guilt.

Multivariate analysis of variance method was used to analyze the data, which showed a significant difference between the two groups. Further, the results of the univariate analysis showed that there is no significant difference between the normal group and the group with symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder in facial emotion recognition. While there was a significant difference between the two groups in the self-conscious emotions of shame and guilt, and university students with symptoms obtained higher scores on this scale.

It is essential to consider individuals' conscious emotions of shame and guilt in explaining and treating generalized anxiety disorder.

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of integrated Transdiagnostic therapy on emotion regulation, irritability, resilience, and worry among individuals suffering from generalized anxiety disorder.

The study utilized a single-case design with multiple baselines (ABAB) and a one-month follow-up. The statistical population comprised individuals diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder who visited the Arvin Clinic in Tehran in 1401 [2022]. Out of these, three were selected via a convenience sampling method. Twelve sessions of integrated Transdiagnostic therapy (UP) were administered to the participants. Data collection tools included a 7-item scale for generalized anxiety, the Gross and John Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, an irritability questionnaire, a resilience scale, and the Pennsylvania State Worry Questionnaire. For data analysis, the improvement percentage formula, Cohen's effect size, PND effect size, intra-situational visual analysis, and visual plotting were utilized.

The results indicated that integrated Transdiagnostic therapy led to improvements in the research variables. The overall improvement percentages for generalized anxiety in the three participants were 58%, 55%, and 57%, respectively, and these rates remained stable at the one-month follow-up.

The data analysis suggests the effectiveness of integrated Transdiagnostic therapy in regulating emotions, reducing irritability, enhancing resilience, and decreasing worry among the participants. This treatment can serve as an educational tool for the rehabilitation and improvement of life quality for patients with generalized anxiety disorder.

General anxiety disorder is one of the types of anxiety disorders that can completely disrupt a person's life process.

The present study was conducted with the aim of comparing the effectiveness of emotional efficiency therapy with Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Affective Capital and Meta Emotion in Women with Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

The research method was applied and semi-experimental with a pre-test, post-test design with a control group. The statistical population of the research included all the Women with Generalized Anxiety Disorder Esfahan city in 2021, using Purposive sampling method, 45 people were randomly selected into three groups of treatment based on Emotion Efficacy Therapy (15 people), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (15 people) and the control group (15 people) were replaced. The data collection tool was the Affective Capital Questionnaire and the Meta Emotion Questionnaire. Data analysis was analyzed through variance analysis of repeated measures using SPSS software version 23.

The results showed that there isnt a significant difference between the two experimental groups and the control group. Also, Emotional Efficiency Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy were both effective in reducing General anxiety disorder.

Based on the findings of the research, Emotion Efficacy Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy led to the reduced Generalized anxiety disorder by increasing Affective Capital and Positive Emotions, so it is suggested to use these methods along with other treatment methods to improve the quality of life of Women with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. 

One of the anxiety disorders that has a high coexistence with other disorders is generalized anxiety disorder. Considering the prevalence and debilitating nature of this disorder, it is very important to identify effective treatments with high potential to improve the treatment outcomes of people with generalized anxiety disorder. It was not found to deal with the descriptive review method.

The aim of the present study is to review effective therapeutic interventions on generalized anxiety disorder.

The present study was a descriptive review. Using the keywords of generalized anxiety disorder, treatment methods and psychological treatment, a search was conducted in specific databases such as Medline, SID, Magiran, PubMed, Scopus and Science Direct. A total of 73 articles were retrieved, and after checking the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 21 articles, including those that were not directly related to the topic of discussion, as well as articles with duplicate findings, were removed.

A review of studies showed that the main approaches used for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder are pharmacological and psychological approaches, that psychological treatments such as emotional schema therapy, education based on acceptance and commitment, and applied relaxation are more effective than drug treatment.

The results of the review and investigation of previous internal and external studies showed that according to the characteristics of anxiety disorders, especially generalized anxiety disorder, which have a great impact on people's cognition, psychological treatment processes with a cognitive-behavioral approach, including those based on acceptance and commitment and emotional therapy schema have a greater and longer effect on the treatment and reduction of the symptoms of this disorder.