Comparison of the Effectiveness of Solution-Focused Group Counseling and Acceptance and Commitment-Based Group Counseling on General Health and Emotion Regulation in Male Students
Keywords:
Solution-focused group counseling, Acceptance and Commitment Group Counseling, Excitement regulation, Public healthAbstract
Objective: The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of solution-focused group counseling and acceptance and commitment-based group counseling on general health and emotion regulation among male high school students.
Methods and Materials: This study employed a quasi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test, and a two-month follow-up alongside a control group. The statistical population consisted of all male secondary school students in Bojnord during the 2023–2024 academic year. A total of 45 participants were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned into three groups: solution-focused group counseling, acceptance and commitment-based group counseling, and a control group (15 participants in each group). Data were collected using the Goldberg General Health Questionnaire and the Gross and John Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. The experimental groups participated in eight counseling sessions, while the control group received no intervention. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA in SPSS version 23.
Findings: The findings of repeated measures ANOVA demonstrated that both interventions significantly improved general health and emotion regulation among participants (P<0.001). Significant reductions were observed in somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction, and depression scores from pre-test to post-test and follow-up stages in both experimental groups. Furthermore, cognitive reappraisal significantly increased, whereas emotional suppression significantly decreased following the interventions. Bonferroni post-hoc results indicated that treatment effects remained stable during the follow-up stage, with no significant differences between post-test and follow-up scores. No significant differences were found between the two therapeutic approaches in most variables; however, acceptance and commitment-based counseling demonstrated relatively greater improvement in general health outcomes.
Conclusion: The results suggest that both solution-focused group counseling and acceptance and commitment-based group counseling are effective psychological interventions for enhancing general health and improving emotion regulation in male students. Despite their theoretical differences, both approaches similarly reduced psychological difficulties and enhanced emotional management skills, and their therapeutic effects remained stable over time.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Benyamin Yazdani, Hossein Mahdian, Ali Jahangiri (Author)
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