Comparison the effectiveness of dialectical behavior therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy on anxiety and aggression in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a serious and incapacitating disorder that can be managed effectively, despite its chronic progression.

The present study aimed to compare the impact of dialectical behavior therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy on anxiety and aggression in patients with OCD.

In this quasi-experimental research, employing a pretest-posttest control group design, the study population comprised girls diagnosed with OCD from the first and second level secondary schools in districts 1 and 3 of Tehran, Iran, during 2022. Through convenience sampling, a total of 45 participants were randomly selected and allocated to the experimental and control groups. In order to collect data, the Maudsley’s Obsessive Compulsive Test (1977), the Beck’s Anxiety Inventory (1988), and the Bass Perry’s Aggression Questionnaire (1992) were employed. The cognitive-behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy were administered to experimental groups 1 and 2, respectively. The analysis of the collected data was conducted using SPSS Version 22, employing the method of multivariate mixed analysis of variance.

The results showed that both cognitive-behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy improved anxiety (F=50.539) and aggression (F=80.878) in people with OCD when compared to the control group (MD=-12.759 and -12.654 for anxiety, respectively; MD=-20.446 and -25.609 for aggression, respectively; P<0.05). Moreover, it was found that dialectical behavior therapy was more effective than cognitive-behavioral therapy in alleviating aggression (MD=-5.143, P<0.05).

The two methods of cognitive-behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy improved the level of anxiety and aggression in individuals with OCD. Therefore, considering the effectiveness of therapeutic methods, they can be used as effective psychological interventions to reduce anxiety and aggression.