Effectiveness of Positivity on Academic Well-being and Its Components in Students with Obsessive-compulsive Disorder: A Quasi-experimental Study of Pre-test and Post-test with Control Group

Today, the construct of well-being has influenced the field of education. In this regard, one of the important educational objectives in advanced societies is to provide psychological well-being for students. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is considered as one of the most common mental disorders affecting all aspects of life with destructive effects in the long run on interpersonal and social relationships.

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of positivity on academic well-being in students with OCD.

The population of this quasi-experimental study included all female students studying in secondary schools in Zahedan during the academic year 2020 - 2021. Using convenience sampling method, a total of 30 participants diagnosed with OCD were assigned into two equal groups of experimental and control (n = 15 in each). The experimental group received positivity training for eight sessions (each session 60 minutes). For data collection, Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (MOCI) and Academic Well-Being Scale by Tuominen-Soini et al. were used. The data obtained from pre-test and post-test were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance (MANOVA).

The results of covariance showed that after training positivity, a significant difference was found between the mean scores of the control and experimental groups in the components of value of school, school burnout, academic satisfaction, involvement in school assignments, and academic well-being (P < 0.05). The difference in post-test scores related to the effect of positivity education according to ETA coefficients in the variables of school value, school burnout, academic satisfaction, school work integration, and academic well-being were 0.86, 0.52, 0.64, 0.77, and 0.81%, respectively.

Considering the effectiveness of positivity training to promote the dimensions of academic well-being, practitioners are advised to use this kind of training to improve academic well-being of students with OCD.