Comparing the Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment-Based Therapy and Logo Therapy in Reducing Death Anxiety in Students with Emotional Disturbance

Due to the adverse effects of emotional disturbances on physical, social and mental health, people suffer from the psychological or emotional trauma associated with death. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim of comparing the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment-based therapy and logo therapy in reducing death anxiety in students with emotional disturbance.

This was a quasi-experimental study with pre-test-post-test and follow-up with a control group design. The study population included all the students of Islamic Azad University, Ardabil branch, during the academic year 2019-2019. The research sample was selected in the following two phases. A) Identification phase: A total of 300 students, who were selected according to the convenience sampling method, completed the emotional disturbance questionnaire. B) Sample selection phase: Finally, 45 students out of the first phase were selected as the study sample. They reached 1 standard deviation above the cutoff point in their emotional disturbance scale scores. They were assigned to two experimental groups and one control group (15 people each) based on a random number generator (http://stattrek.com/statistics/random-number-generator.aspx). For the first experimental group, the acceptance and commitment-based therapy and for the second experimental group, logo therapy was performed in 8 sessions of 75 minutes each over 4 weeks. Data were collected using Templer's (1970) death anxiety scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16 software and analysis of variance using repeated measures.

The results showed that logo therapy and acceptance and commitment-based therapy interventions had an impact on death anxiety among emotionally disturbed students (p<0.05). Additionally, the results of the post-tests showed that there was a significant difference between the two treatment methods on the death anxiety variable (p<0.05).

According to the results both logo therapy and acceptance and commitment-based therapy significantly improved death anxiety in the students with emotional disturbance. However, the effect of logo therapy was statistically more significant than that of acceptance and commitment-based therapy. Therefore, the use of these interventions is recommended for students with emotional disturbances.