The effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy on medical science students’ subjective well-being, psychological distress, and emotion regulation
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Background and aims: Subjective well-being as a major prerequisite of health ensures mental and physical health, a long life, happiness, improved quality of life, and higher socioeconomic indices. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on subjective well-being, psychological distress, and emotion regulation in medical science students. Methods: The statistical population of this semi-experimental comprised all female students at Kerman University of Medical Sciences (Iran) in the academic year of 2019-2020. Forty-five students referring to the university counseling center were selected as the sample of the study using convenience sampling and randomly divided into two experimental groups and a control group (n=15 per group). The first and second experimental groups underwent eight 90- and 45-sessions (twice a week) of MBCT and of ACT, respectively. The research instruments included the Subjective Well-being Scale (SWS), the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale, and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. Results: The results showed that MBCT and ACT were effective in improving the components of subjective well-being and emotion regulation in medical students (P<0.001). Moreover, MBCT and ACT significantly reduced the post-test scores of psychological distress subscales in the experimental group compared to the control group (P<0.001). Finally, no difference was observed between the two therapies in terms of effectiveness. Conclusion: According to the results, MBCT and ACT effectively promoted female students’ subjective well-being and emotion regulation and alleviated their psychological distress.
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A small semiexperimental study demonstrated improvements in well-being and psychological distress among female medical students in Iran following completion of an ACT intervention.
“A small semiexperimental study demonstrated improvements in well-being and psychological distress among female medical students in Iran following completion of an ACT intervention [62].”
From Evaluation of an App-Delivered Psychological Flexibility Skill Training Intervention for Medical Student Burnout and Well-being: Randomized Controlled Trial (2023) · cites this paper as [62]
These findings support previous literature highlighting the potential benefits of training medical students in psychological flexibility skills.
“These findings support previous literature highlighting the potential benefits of training medical students in psychological flexibility skills [31,61,62]”
From Evaluation of an App-Delivered Psychological Flexibility Skill Training Intervention for Medical Student Burnout and Well-being: Randomized Controlled Trial (2023) · cites this paper as [62]
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- Authors
- Shahsavari Googhari, Z., Hafezi, F., Asgari, P., & Heidari, A.
- Affiliations
- Department of Psychology, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran
- Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz Branch (IR)
- Corresponding author
- Hafezi, Fariba
- Venue
- Journal of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences
- Publisher
- Maad Rayan Publishing Company
- Published
- 2022-01-26
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 35-41
- ISSN
- 1735-1448 (ISSN-L)
- 2717-0071
- OpenAlex
- W4210415756
- Cited by
- 15
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 4
- FWCI
- 3.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Journal of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Islamic Azad University
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Student Stress and Coping
- Keywords
- mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, subjective well-being, psychological distress, emotion regulation, medical students, female students, university counseling services, depression, anxiety, stress
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