A Comparative Analysis of the Efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Metacognitive Therapy (MCT) on Worry and Quality of Life in Women Diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is characterized by an excessive preoccupation with daily life occurrences and situations. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of Metacognitive Therapy (MCT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in reducing worry and improving the quality of life among women diagnosed with GAD.

A quasi-experimental study was conducted using a pretest and a 3-month follow-up design. The study participants were women with GAD selected through convenient sampling in Tehran, Iran, from September to November 2022. According to the research design, the participants were divided into experimental and control groups (n=17 in each group). The experimental group underwent a 10-session treatment protocol based on ACT, while the control group did not receive any specific treatment. Data collection was accomplished using the Pennsylvania State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) to assess worry, the Brief Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) to measure generalized anxiety, and the Quality of Life Questionnaire (QOL) to assess the quality of life. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 25, utilizing analysis of variance and repeated measures at a significance level of 0.05.

Significant differences were observed between the experimental and follow-up phases among the ACT, MCT, and Control groups concerning environmental health variables (P=0.04). The study’s results indicated significant differences in anxiety variables between the three groups (ACT, MCT, and Control) during the experimental and follow-up phases (P=0.001). No significant differences were noted between the ACT, MCT, and control groups regarding changes in physical health at the post-test (P=0.2) and follow-up (P=0.1) phases. In addition, significant differences were found among the three groups (ACT, MCT, and Control) regarding changes in mental health during the pretest and follow-up (P=0.001). This study also revealed significant disparities in social health variables among the three groups (ACT, MCT, and Control) (P=0.001).

In summary, this study suggested that fostering positive thoughts about worrying may contribute to reducing the severity of anxiety disorders in adults. Intriguingly, mindfulness and a focus on the present moment did not appear to be significantly correlated with mild anxiety experiences.