Efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Compared to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Anger and Interpersonal Relationships of Male Students

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the present study was to determine the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) compared to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) on anger and interpersonal relationships among male students.
 Method: In the present study, several universities were selected from the public universities in Tehran province, based on random cluster sampling. Then, 400 students from selected universities were selected randomly and Aggression Questionnaire (AGQ) was administered on them. After collecting information, among the participants who gained scores higher than the average, 30 were selected based on the lottery and randomly (sorting their names in alphabetical order and randomly selecting them) and then were placed randomly in ACT (n = 15) and CBT (n = 15) groups. Also, the Fundamental Interpersonal Relation Orientation- Behavior (FIRO-B) and Aggression Questionnaire (AGQ) was performed on both groups before and after intervention.
 Results: The results indicated that at the end of treatment, there was a significant decrease in the degree of anger among the participants and a significant improvement in all subscales of interpersonal relationships. Also, a significant difference was found between the 2 groups of ACT and CBT in terms of anger changes. Considering that the anger changes in the ACT group were higher, it can be concluded that the ACT group had more changes than the CBT group, but there was no significant difference between the 2 groups of ACT and CBT in terms of FIRO-B subscales.
 Conclusion: In some cases, such as anger, ACT has a better effect than CBT, and in others, such as interpersonal problems, it is as effective as CBT

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Anger, Irritability, and Aggression in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults: A Systematic Review of Intervention Studies

“…One study did not provide enough detail regarding the setting (Garivani et al, 2021). Over 60% of the Masoumian et al’s (2021) study comprised of undergraduate students. The three studies that took place in the school environment had a participant average age of 9.8 years (Chang & Hwang, 2017), and 12.4 years (Theodore-Oklota et al, 2015), respectively.…”

“…Another school-based intervention used a shortened five-session, Discoverer, Noticer, Advisor, and Values (DNA-V) model (Hayes & Ciarrochi, 2015). Regarding control groups, only one study included an active treatment, cognitive-behavioral therapy (Masoumian et al, 2021). Two studies used a control group (Garivani et al, 2021; Mohammadi & Farhoudian, 2015) and one study compared the intervention to a waitlist (Theodore-Oklota et al, 2015).…”

“…The present review finds that although further studies have been completed since the time of Berkout's review, the existing evidence for the effectiveness of ACT addressing anger, aggression, and violence among this population is mixed. The review found statistically significant or positive findings across four studies for aggression and anger (Garivani et al, 2021;Masoumian et al, 2021;Mohammadi et al, 2015;O'Driscoll et al, 2020). Two studies provided no standardized outcome measurements but reported on reductions in aggression (Chang & Hwang, 2017;Ruiz & Perete, 2015).…”

The relationship between spirituality and aggression in the workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study among Iranian nurses

“…The word aggression originated in the early 17 th century, which is derived from the Latin word, ‘aggredi’, meaning ‘to attack’ [ 6 ]. Aggression is any behavior that directly harms someone; everyone can do it [ 7 ]. Aggression can happen in different ways.…”

The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a transdiagnostic intervention for transitional-age youth: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial

“…Until now, less is known about the effectiveness of ACT for adolescents and young adults [ 26 , 27 ]. Few studies investigated the effectiveness of ACT in adolescents and/or young adults with different types of problems, such as anorexia nervosa [ 28 , 29 ], obsessive–compulsive anxiety [ 30 ], pain [ 31 , 32 ], depressive symptoms [ 33 , 34 ], autism spectrum disorder [ 35 ], social and school adaptation [ 36 ], social anxiety [ 37 ], posttraumatic stress [ 38 ], learning disabilities and anxiety [ 39 ], academic procrastination [ 40 ], trichotillomania [ 41 ], aggression [ 42 ] and antisocial behaviour [ 43 ]. These studies show promising effects.…”