Comparing the effectiveness of Adolescent-Centered Mindfulness Therapy and Emotion Regulation Training Strategies on Risky Behaviors, Mind Wandering, and Depression in Adolescents

Depression is a common disorder in adolescents that has wide cognitive and social consequences. One of the cognitive consequences is mind wandering, which increases the likelihood of risky behaviors by intensifying dysfunctional thoughts. Therefore, it is necessary to provide psychological interventions in this field. The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of adolescent-centered mindfulness therapy and emotion regulation training strategies on risky behaviors, mind wandering, and depression in adolescents. This study had a quasi-experimental research design and was performed on depressed female adolescents referred to psychological centers in Isfahan in 2021. Forty-five depressed adolescents were randomly selected and assigned to two experimental groups and one control group. The first experimental group received mindfulness therapy and the second experimental group received emotion regulation training for eight 60-minute sessions, while the control group did not receive any intervention. Participants completed the Risk Behaviors Questionnaire (2011), Mind Wandering Scale (MWS) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) in the pre-test, post-test and follow-up stages. Data were analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance using SPSS software. A significant difference was observed between the two experimental and the control groups in the post-test and follow-up stages compared to the pre-test. Considering the effect sizes, 14.3% of the difference in risky behaviors, 18.3% of the difference in mind wandering, and 28.3% of the difference in depression are due to adolescent-centered mindfulness therapy and emotion regulation training (P<0.01). No significant difference was observed between the two experimental groups. Adolescent-centered mindfulness treatment and emotion regulation training strategies can play an important role in improving high-risk behaviors, mind wandering, and depressed adolescent symptoms.