A Comparison of the Effectiveness of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Mindfulness Training in Improving Sleep Quality and Reducing Distress Tolerance in Drug-addicted Treatment Seekers

The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of dialectical behavior therapy and mindfulness training in improving the sleep quality and reducing distress tolerance in drug-addicted treatment seekers.

The research method was quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest design and control group. Using a convenience sampling method, 120 men who were admitted in the mid-term residential addiction treatment center in Baghmalek city were first selected, and then 80 individuals were randomly assigned to three experimental and one control groups (n=20 per group). Experimental groups received twelve 45-minute sessions of mindfulness training, dialectical behavior therapy, and a combination of mindfulness and dialectical behavior therapy. The control group did not receive any intervention training program. All participants responded to the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS) at the beginning of the study, at the end of intervention and one month after the treatment (one-month follow-up). The multivariate analysis of covariance and one-way analysis of variance were utilized to analyze the data. SPSS software was used for data analysis. A significance level of 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Dialectical behavior therapy and mindfulness training were effective in reducing distress tolerance (F=124.33, P=0.0001) and improving sleep quality (F=37.03, P=0.001). The combination of dialectical behavior therapy and mindfulness training had no significant effect on distress tolerance (P=0.071) and sleep quality (P=0.090).

Both methods had similar effects on the participants. The follow-up results indicated lasting effects of dialectical behavior therapy and mindfulness training on sleep quality and distress tolerance.