The Effectiveness of Positive Psychology Training on Distress Tolerance and Optimism in Patients with Leukemia

 Cancers are one of the most important diseases of the century among the cause of death after cardiovascular disease. Detection of cancer, followed by prolonged treatments, is usually a stressful experience. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of positive psychology training on distress tolerance and optimism in patients with leukemia.

 This quasi-experimental study was conducted with a pretest-posttest design, follow-up, and a control group. The statistical population of the study included all patients with leukemia who had referred to Valiasr Hospital in Khorramshahr, Iran, in 2020; 30 of them were selected using a purposive sampling method, and randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group (15 individuals in each group). To collect data, the Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS) (Simmons & Gaher, 2005) and Life Orientation Test (LOT) (Scheier & Carver, 1993) were used. The experimental group underwent positive psychology training (14 weekly 90-minute sessions) based on Rashid's treatment protocol (2008), but the control group received no treatments. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS software.

 The results showed that positive psychology training was effective in increasing distress tolerance (F = 34.30; P < 0.001) and optimism (F = 10.10; P < 0.001) in patients with leukemia.

 According to the results, positive psychology can be used to increase distress tolerance and optimism in patients with leukemia.