Effectiveness of Habit Reversal Training (HRT) on Anxiety and Trichotillomania (TTM)

This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of habit reversal training (HRT) on anxiety and trichotillomania (TTM) symptoms
This experimental study was conducted using a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The participants were 24 persons who were selected using convenience sampling from among female patients with trichotillomania (TTM) visiting medical clinics in Mashhad. The selected patients were randomly divided into intervention (n = 12) and control (n = 12) groups. The participants in the intervention group attended 8 habit reversal training (HRT) sessions, while the participants in the control group did not receive any intervention. All participants completed the items in the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Hair pulling Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) before and after the intervention. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics including analysis of variance (ANOVA) and chi-square test in SPSS software (version 21).
The results showed that after the HRT intervention, there was a significant difference between the intervention and control groups in terms of anxiety and trichotillomania (TTM) (P<0.001). The mean scores of anxiety and trichotillomania (TTM) for the participants in the intervention group were significantly lower than those of the control group and compared to the pretest, indicating that HRT intervention had a positive effect on reducing anxiety and trichotillomania (TTM).
Habit reversal treatment has a positive effect on reducing anxiety and trichotillomania (TTM) symptoms in patients with TTM.