The Effectivnes of acceptance and commitment therapy on anxiety sensitivity and impulsivity in female adolescents with social anxiety disorder

Girls' social anxiety disorder is a common, complex , and debilitating disorder that persists if left untreated. Adolescents with social anxiety disorders suffer from poor academic performance and mental health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on anxiety sensitivity and impulsivity in adolescent girls with anxiety disorder.

In a quasi-experimental study with pre-test and post-test design and control group, the statistical population consisted of all students who referred to counseling centers in Sari, Babol, and Ghaemshahr in 2019-2020. The sample selection was done by purposive sampling from counseling centers that were eligible and were randomly assigned into two experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. Anxiety sensitivity questionnaire, impulsivity questionnaire, and social anxiety questionnaire were used to collect data. ACT was applied to the experimental group in eight sessions and finally post-test was taken from both groups.

The results showed that ACT significantly reduced anxiety sensitivity and impulsivity in adolescent girls with social anxiety disorder. This led to a decrease in anxiety sensitivity and impulsivity scores in the post-test (p<0.05).

ACT can be considered as a suitable treatment to solve the problems of adolescent girls with social anxiety disorder.