The Effectiveness of Religion-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy on Resilience and Happiness in University Students

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of religion-based cognitive-behavioral therapy on students’ resilience and happiness. 375 university students responded to Connor and Davidson Resilience Questionnaire and Oxford Happiness Questionnaire. From among those who scored a standard deviation below average in the resilience and happiness questionnaires, 40 were randomly selected. Due to the loss of 6 subjects in the experimental group, the control group was equally matched. Subjects were then divided into two experimental and control groups (n = 14). Religion-based cognitive-behavioral therapy was presented to the experimental group in ten 90 -minute sessions. During this time period, the control group did not receive any intervention. The findings of the study showed that there is a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of resilience and happiness (P</001); the level of resilience and happiness in the experimental group was significantly higher than the pre-test and control group. The results of the study show that psychotherapy, especially religion-based cognitive-behavioral interventions, along with medical treatments increases the resilience and happiness of students.