The Effect of adolescent-centered mindfulness training on Depression, Anxiety and Stress among adolescents with cancer at the chemotherapy stage

Cancer patients are experiencing psychological problems because of the nature of the disease, the stages of treatment and the pain, so it is important to reduce these problems in order to facilitate the treatment of cancer. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of teaching adolescent mindfulness education on depression, anxiety and stress in adolescents with cancer at the chemotherapy stage. The present study was a quasi-experimental design with a post-test pretest design with control group and follow-up stage. The statistical population of cancer patients in the chemotherapy stage referred to the private clinics of cancer treatment in Isfahan in 2017-2018; that 30 of whom were selected by available method and divided into two groups and were run through a DASS-21 pre-test questionnaire. The experimental group received eight 60-minute weekly training sessions on adolescent mindedness education, but did not manage for the control group. After completion of the intervention, a post-test, a seven-day follow-up, and one-month follow-up. The findings indicated a significant difference between the two groups in depression, anxiety and stress (P <0.001). The effects of this treatment were constant during the first and second follow-up period. The results of data analysis showed adolescent-centered mindfulness training can have a significant effect on decreasing depression, anxiety and stress in adolescents with cancer at the chemotherapy stage. Therefore, this method has implications for improving the psychological state of adolescents with cancer at the chemotherapy stage.