Comparison of the Effectiveness of Happiness Education and Problem Solving Skills Training on Social Anxiety and Self-Compassion in Adolescents

Adolescence is one of the most important stages of life in which a person's personality is established and formed. Most behavioral disorders and maladaptations after adolescence are due to lack of attention to the sensitive period of adolescence and lack of proper guidance in the process of growth and development. This negligence leads to incompatibility and adaptation to the environment and the occurrence of various deviations in various dimensions for adolescence (1). The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of happiness education and problem-solving skills training on social anxiety and self-compassion in adolescents.

The present study was a quasi-experimental study of pre-test and post-test with two experimental groups and an unbalanced control group. The statistical population of this study was all female students studying in the academic year 1396-97 in Tehran in the second secondary (high school) number of 2325 people. Using random sampling method, a sample size of 60 people (20 people in the happiness training group, 20 people in the problem solving training group and 20 people in the control group) were selected. In order to collect research data, the questionnaire of social anxiety styles of Connor et al. (2) and self-compassion of Reese, Pamir, Neff and Wengachet (3) were used. First, the pre-test was performed using the mentioned questionnaires from all three groups (happiness education test, problem solving skills test and control). Then, the first experimental group was trained in problem solving using the protocol prepared based on "Problem Solving and Decision Making Book" (4), Life Skills Book (5), 9 sessions and 1 2-hour session per week. The second experiment was performed according to the protocol prepared by the happiness training program based on the "Fordyce method" (1997, quoted by Pahlavan 2009), in 7 sessions and 1 2-hour session per week. After the intervention, post-test was performed in all three groups. The obtained data were analyzed by analysis of covariance.

The results of multivariate analysis of covariance and LSD comparative test indicate that happiness and problem-solving skills training affect adolescents' own social anxiety and compassion.

There is also a difference between the effectiveness of happiness education and problem solving skills training on social anxiety and self-compassion in adolescents. The effectiveness of problem-solving skills training on social anxiety and self-compassion in adolescents is higher than the effectiveness of happiness training.