The Impact of Training Positive Thinking Skills with Emphasis on the Quran and Islamic Teachings on Psychological Hardiness, Self-Compassion and Body Image Dissatisfaction in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common debilitating disease in adults. It occurs due to the inflammatory process of demyelination of the central nervous system and has a great impact on the quality of life of these patients. Therefore, the present study was conducted to examine the impact of training positive thinking skills with emphasis on the Quran and Islamic teachings on psychological hardiness, self-compassion and body image dissatisfaction in patients with MS.

This was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test, post-test and control group design and a follow-up stage. Out of the patients with MS who referred to Milad Hospital in Tehran during 2020, 40 were selected by available sampling method, and were randomly divided into experimental (n=20) and control (n=20) groups. Data were collected using a checklist of demographic information and Multidimentional Body-Self Relation Questionnaire, Short form of the Self-compassion Scale and Ahvaz Psychological Hardiness Questionnaire. In the experimental group, the training of positive thinking skills with emphasis on the Qur'an was performed in 10 sessions (two 1-hour sessions per week). After the training, the groups were retested. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. In this study, all ethical considerations were observed and no conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

The results showed that the educational intervention of positive thinking combined with Islamic teachings had a positive and significant effect on increasing the psychological hardiness and self-compassion of the experimental group in the post-test stage. There was a significant difference between the two groups in the mean scores related to body image on the post-test (P<0.05). This effectiveness was also maintained during the follow-up period.

The results of this study showed that a positive thinking educational intervention combined with Islamic teachings can be effective in improving the psychological status of people with MS, and researchers and therapists can use this approach to improve health-promoting behaviors in MS patients.