The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Distress Tolerance and Depression in Students

One of the most frequent and disabling problems of students in different age periods is depression that researchers have examined different components in the perception of depression, including distress tolerance. In this way, the purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on distress tolerance and depression in students.

This research was a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest control group design. The statistical population included all 7th grade female students in Qayen in the academic year of 2019-20, of which 30 students were selected by available sampling method and were randomly assigned to the experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. The instruments used in the study included the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI–II; Beck, Steer, GK Brown, 1996) and the Distress Tolerance Scale (Simons, Gaher, 2005). The experimental group received 8 one – hour sessions, while the control group underwent no intervention. Data were analyzed by the multivariate analysis of covariance using the SPSS statistics version 24 program.

The results showed that there is a significant difference between the mean scores of distress and depression in the experimental and control group, in the way that ACT reduced depression and improved distress tolerance in students (P <0.01)

In through mindful exercises, the acceptance of thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and sensory and physical receipts are facilitated. As a result, the infrastructure mechanisms of this treatment reduced depression and improved distress tolerance in students in this study.