The Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Anxiety Sensitivity and Health-Oriented Lifestyle and Academic Self-Regulation of High School Students in Borujerd City

Abstract

Mental disorders, including social anxiety. using of cognitive-behavioral therapy interventions to reduce anxiety and cognitive damage has attracted the attention of many researchers. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy on anxiety sensitivity and health-oriented lifestyle and academic self-regulation among second secondary students in Borujerd city. This research is a semi-experimental type of pre-test, post-test design. The statistical population of this research consists of all the students of the second secondary level in Borujerd city. The research sample is 60 female students who were randomly divided into two experimental groups (30 people) and control (30 people). The experimental group received the cognitive behavioral therapy protocol of Himberg and Becker (2002) during twelve one-hour sessions. Academic self-regulation, anxiety sensitivity and health promoting lifestyle questionnaires were used in the pre-test and post-test. In the statistical analysis, covariance analysis (MANCOVA) was used. The results of the study showed the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy on anxiety sensitivity and academic self-regulation. However, no significant difference was seen in the health-oriented lifestyle index between the two control and experimental groups. The subscales of all three variables showed the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy. According to the results of the study, benefiting from cognitive-behavioral therapy is useful for adolescent age groups and can guarantee a better academic future for students.

Keywords: Cognitive Behavioral Therapies, anxiety disorders, Health-Related Quality of Life, Self Regulation