The Effectiveness of "Rumination -Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy" and "Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy" on Impulsivity and Hopelessness of Depressed Teenage Girls Attempting Suicide

Suicide is on the rise among adolescents, and according to Cognitive Theory, hopelessness is the cause of suicide in depressed patients, and impulsivity has a moderating role. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of "Rumination -Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy" and "Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy" on impulsivity and hopelessness of depressed teenage girls attempting suicide.

The research method was quasi-experimental with pre-test and post-test design with intervention and control groups with 2 months follow-up. The study population included depressed adolescents who attempted suicide in the emergency department of Samenol Aeme (AS) Hospital and Imam Hassan (AS) Hospital in Bojnourd in 2019. 30 teen girl were selected in a purposeful manner after confirming the inclusion criteria. Then they were randomly divided into two intervention groups and one control group. The demographic questionnaire, "Beck Depression Inventory-II", "Impulsiveness Scale" and the “Suicide Probability Scale” were used to collect data. Convergence validity and reliability were measured by internal consistency method by calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient of instruments. The intervention groups each received 10 sessions of 60 minutes of treatment. Data were analyzed with SPSS. 25. 

Both interventions had a significant effect on reducing hopelessness (F = 37.94, P <0.001) and impulsivity (cognitive; F = 23.29, P <0.001; lack of planning F = 55.63, P <0.001) and also in Post-test (P <0.001) and follow-up time (P <0.05) were more than pre-test, and the results were stable compared to the post-test during each two-month follow-up period in each of the intervention groups (P > 0.05).

Both interventions can reduce hopelessness and impulsivity in different ways but without superiority. Therefore, it is recommended to use these two interventions in times of depression and in times of suicidal crisis.