The Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy on Body Dysmorphic Disorder and Perfectionism Concerns in Students with Physical Deformity Concerns

 Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and perfectionism are the main mental concerns of adolescent students who are the future makers of the country. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) on perfectionism and BDD in students with these concerns.

 The quasi-experimental research design was pretest-posttest with a control group. From 360 high school female students from 4 high schools in the 14th district of Tehran (2016), 34 people with high scores on the cut line (score 93) were selected regarding the BDD scale and as a research sample were randomly divided into two groups of 17 cases per group. Due to the lack of collaboration and sample attrition, 11 and 13 cases in the experimental and control groups completed the perfectionism questionnaire, respectively. The experimental group participated in eight CBT sessions based on the treatment guide of Wright et al. in cyberspace; however, the control group did not receive any intervention. Finally, the post-test was administered. The research instruments were the Physical Appearance Perfectionism Scale and Body Dysmorphic Disorder Symptom Scale. The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 26) using ANCOVA, MANCOVA, and multivariate covariance analysis.

 The effectiveness of CBT in BDD was not significant at P≤0.01 and the perfectionism variable. The CBT explained 39.9% of the variance of predictor variables.

 Considering the effectiveness and efficiency of CBT to reduce students' mental concerns, prevent related disorders, and improve their quality of life, this piece of training can be included in the school curriculum.