Document Type : Research Article
Authors
1 PhD. student, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, Gorgan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Gorgan, Iran.
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, Gorgan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Gorgan, Iran.
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, Gorgan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Gorgan, Iran.
4 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Introduction
The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Social physique anxiety, impulsive behaviors, and emotional self-regulation of obese people. The statistical population of the research consisted of all obese women living in Tehran in 2022.
Recent studies show that obesity has reached epidemic proportions in recent years and its prevalence is still increasing. Obesity is often associated with many physical diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, premature birth, and arthritis, as well as social and economic harms such as problems in interpersonal communication, reduced productivity, and hope. It comes with life and health care costs. Although weight causes physical, social, and economic problems, it can have a significant effect on creating psychological problems; Especially in today's age, when there is a different view of obesity and body, and these conditions, in turn, cause physical and social anxiety in people with obesity in social situations. Physical-social anxiety is a special form of social anxiety that is defined as the fear of negative evaluation or rejection by others because of one's physical appearance. A person suffering from physical-social anxiety does not feel comfortable with his body and body in social situations and is worried that others will judge his appearance or have a negative evaluation about his appearance. On the other hand, in people with obesity, due to their physical condition and fear of social evaluations, this condition, in addition to being anxiety-provoking, can reduce the patient's tolerance threshold, which is one of the important and fundamental factors in increased impulsivity.
Method
The research method is quasi-experimental with pre-test-post-test design and follow-up (one month) with control group and random assignment of subjects. To measure the research variables, social physique anxiety scale (SPA) by Hart et al. (1989), the impulsivity questionnaire (BIS-11) by Barrett et al. (2004) and the emotional self-regulation scale by Hoffman and Kashdan (2010) were used. First, 30 people were selected by convenience sampling method and were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (15 people each). Then, the experimental group received Acceptance and Commitment Therapy during 8 therapy sessions, one session of 90 minutes per week. Both groups were measured in three stages: pre-test, post-test and one-month follow-up. The data were analyzed by multivariate variance analysis using SPSS-22 software.
Results
The findings of the research showed that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy was effective on social physique anxiety, impulsive behaviors, and emotional self-regulation in obese women (p=0/.5). This effectiveness was sustained in the follow-up period. Also, the findings of the research show that the treatment based on acceptance and commitment has led to the reduction of impulsive behaviors and improvement of emotional self-regulation in people with obesity. Individuals who struggle with problems with emotional self-regulation, delayed gratification, and poor impulse control are more likely to eat high-fat foods when they are available. In fact, overeating appears to temporarily reduce negative emotions. The reduction of impulsive behaviors and, consequently, the improvement of emotional self-regulation skills following treatment based on acceptance and commitment can be attributed to the three components of acceptance, attention to clients' values, and mindfulness in therapy based on acceptance and commitment. Acceptance as an adaptive emotion regulation strategy does not mean changing the experienced emotions.
Discussion
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy can be used as an effective intervention to reduce social people. anxiety and impulsive behaviors and improve emotional self-regulation in obese people. Based on the results of statistical analysis, the research hypothesis is confirmed. The findings show that the treatment based on acceptance and commitment has been effective in reducing the physical-social anxiety of people with obesity.
Keywords
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Social physique anxiety
- impulsive behaviors
- and emotional self-regulation
Main Subjects
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