The Effectiveness of Group Dialectical Behavior Therapy on Cognitive Emotion Regulation in Students with Social Anxiety Disorder

Given the central role of cognitive emotion regulation in maintaining and exacerbating the symptoms of social anxiety disorder, the need to provide professional psychological services to patients with a social anxiety seems necessary. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effect of group dialectical behavior therapy on cognitive emotion regulation in students with social anxiety disorder.

This research was experimental. The statistical population of this study included all students with social anxiety in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in the academic year of 2019-2020 that the 30 students who received a social anxiety disorder diagnosis according to the cut-off score above 16 in the Connor et al. (2000) Social Phobia Inventory were selected by multistage cluster sampling method and purposive sampling as the statistical sample and they were randomly assigned to one experimental and one control groups (15 people per group). All two groups completed the Garnefski et al. (2001) Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. After completing eight sessions of group dialectical behavior therapy in the experimental group, the questionnaire was again completed as a post-test in the groups and the control group received no intervention. The results were analyzed using multivariate and univariate analysis of covariance

There was a significant difference between the mean scores of the post-test in the experimental and control groups (p=0.001) if this intervention reduced the use of negative cognitive emotion regulation strategies and increased the use of positive strategies in the experimental group.

Considering the positive effect of group dialectical behavior therapy on reducing the use of negative cognitive emotion regulation strategies and increasing the use of positive strategies by students with social anxiety disorder, the use of this method in universities is recommended.