The Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy on Anxiety and Acute Stress in Adolescents Rescued from Earthquake in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran

Abstract

The present study examines the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral group therapy on anxiety and acute stress in adolescents rescued from earthquake in city of Hariss, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Twenty of the adolescents rescued from earthquake in East Azerbaijan (city of Hariss) who met the inclusion criteria were randomly selected for the study. This is a quasi-experimental study using pre-test and post-test design with the control group. The participants were randomly divided into two groups after pre-test. In the experimental group, the cognitive behavior group therapy, they were trained by 8 sessions of two hours and the control group did not receive any intervention. The instrument used in this study was Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) to assess symptoms of anxiety and acute stress in adolescents rescued from earthquake in city of Hariss, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. In order to analyze the data, descriptive and inferential statistical methods (ANCOVA) were used. The results show a significant difference between experimental group and the control group after implementing the dependent variable and by a factor of 99% confidence; one can be considerd the cognitive-behavioral group therapy as positive in reducing symptoms of anxiety and stress in the experimental group. Further, the anxiety in the experimental group significantly decreased compared to the control group in pre-test and stress was significantly reduced in the experimental group and the control group in pre-test. There was a significant difference in reducing anxiety and stress of the experimental group. Group cognitive-behavioral therapy in adolescents rescued from earthquake in East Azerbaijan (city of Hariss) has been effective in reducing anxiety and stress. The results indicated that the treatment had a significant effect on both gender. Therefore, this method can be used for both genders.