Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on COVID-19 Induced Anxiety among Worried People
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Background: The current research was conducted with the aim to examine the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on COVID-19 induced anxiety among worried people in Ahvaz, Iran.
Methods: This semi-experimental research was performed with experimental and control groups and a pretest-posttest design. The statistical sample of the research included all people worried due to COVID-19 in Ahvaz from among whom 30 were recruited using convenience sampling method and were randomly divided into the experimental or control groups. The subjects completed the Corona Disease Anxiety Scale (CDAS) designed by Alipour et al. in 2020. The experimental group received 8 sessions of ACT while the control group received no treatment. The data were analyzed using ANOVA in SPSS software.
Results: The results showed that after controlling for the pretest, the experimental group showed significant reduction in their anxiety score in comparison with the control group (P < 0.01).
Conclusion: The results of the research indicated that ACT effectively decreased subjects' COVID-19 induced anxiety through promoting psychological flexibility, decreasing struggle and control, and increasing mindfulness.
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