The effect of computer-based cognitive-behavioral therapy on emotion regulation of pregnant women with anxiety disorders

A high percentage of pregnant women experience anxiety symptoms. A review of recent studies shows that current psychological interventions have not focused on pregnancy. Therefore, considering the importance of investigating anxiety disorders during pregnancy and the impact of these disorders on the mental health system, the evaluation of anxiety disorders should be considered in controlled clinical studies.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of computer-based cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy (ECBT) on emotion regulation in pregnant women with anxiety.

This study was quasi-experimental. The studied population consists of pregnant women from 13 to 30 weeks pregnant, singletons, and suffering from anxiety disorders in Babol city. In a pre-test and post-test design, 84 pregnant women at 13-30 weeks of pregnancy were divided into two experimental groups (n = 42) and control (n = 42). The participants in both groups completed Garnevsky's (2002) cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire in two pre-test and post-test series. The data were analyzed using variance analysis of repeated measurements and SPSS 26 software.

The results of this study showed that ECBT is able to improve emotion regulation in pregnant women (p<0.05). The pre-test and post-test of emotion regulation showed a significant difference in repeated measurement evaluation.

The results of this study suggest the use of computer-based cognitive behavioral therapy in reducing the emotional problems of pregnant women with anxiety disorders. Furthermore, the obtained results help psychologists and specialists in the field of women's health to gain new insights in relation to online treatments.