Comparison of the Effectiveness of Compassion-Focused and Rational-Emotional Behavior Therapy on Weight Self-Efficacy and Self-Criticism

This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of compassion-focused intervention and rational-emotional behavior therapy among women on weight self-efficacy and self-criticism on an Overweight Diet. This study was a quasi-experimental design using a pre-test and post-test with a control group. The statistical population consisted of all women on an overweight diet that was referred to therapy clinics in Tehran from December 2019 to April 2020. Through a convenience sampling method, 45 overweight females were selected based on inclusion criteria and randomly assigned to a control and two experimental groups. Both experimental groups1(n=15), and 2 (n=15) were treated with compassion-focused therapy and rational-emotional behavior therapy for ten and eight weekly 90-minute sessions, but the control group (n=15) did not receive any treatment. At the start of the study, all participants completed using the Weight Efficacy Lifestyle Questionnaire (WEL) and the Levels of Self-criticism (LOSC) Scale. Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and One-Way Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) were applied by the SPSS-25 program (P < 0.05). Furthermore, there was a significant difference between post-test scores of compassion-focused intervention (CFT) and rational-emotional behavioral therapy (REBT) groups in terms of self-efficacy and self-criticism. The people in the REBT intervention group had better self-efficacy and self-criticism scores (p = 0.001). The findings showed that compassion-focused intervention (CFT) and rational-emotional behavioral therapy interventions could help with overweightness. Therefore, both intervention programs are recommended for improving weight self-efficacy and decreasing self-criticism among women on an overweight diet.