The Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy on Self-Esteem, Depression and Attribution Styles in College Students

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive- behavioral group intervention on self-esteem, depression and attribution styles in college students. The design of the study was experimental with experimental and control groups. The subject's scores were below the cut-off point on Coopersmith test and then they were divided randomly into the groups. The tests used in this study were The Coopersmith test, Beck Depression Inventory and the Attributional Style Test that subjects completed at pre-test and post-test stages. The experimental group received ten sessions of CBT; subjects in the control group received the same sessions after the termination of the experiment. The data were transferred to the SPSS program and analyzed. All study hypotheses were supported. The results indicated that there were significant differences between the experimental and control groups at the three assessment points. Furthermore, significant differences between the pre-test and post-test stages were found for the experimental group. CBT was effective for the enhancement of self-esteem, reducing depression and changing attributional styles in college students.