Investigating the Effectiveness of Treatment Based on Acceptance and Commitment on Executive Functions, Psychological Flexibility and Psychological Well-Being of Male Patients With Bipolar Disorder Type 1

Karim Soltani , Sadegh; Mousavi , Seyed Asghar; Amini , Naser

Volume 15 - Articles-1404 MEJDS (2025) 15: 96 | Back to browse issues page

Research code: A-12-3997-1

Ethics code: IR.BPUMS.REC.1402.184

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Karim Soltani S, Mousavi S A, Amini N. Investigating the Effectiveness of Treatment Based on Acceptance and Commitment on Executive Functions, Psychological Flexibility and Psychological Well-Being of Male Patients With Bipolar Disorder Type 1. MEJDS 2025; 15 (0) :96-96
URL: http://jdisabilstud.org/article-1-3610-en.html

Investigating the Effectiveness of Treatment Based on Acceptance and Commitment on Executive Functions, Psychological Flexibility and Psychological Well-Being of Male Patients With Bipolar Disorder Type 1

Sadegh Karim Soltani¹

, Seyed Asghar Mousavi ^*²

, Naser Amini²

1- PhD Student in Psychology, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, Bushehr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bushehr, Iran
2- Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Bushehr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bushehr, Iran

Abstract: (473 Views)

Abstract
Background & Objectives: Bipolar disorder Type 1 is a severe mental disorder characterized by fluctuations in mood and energy levels, with frequent episodes of depression alternating with periods of mania or hypomania. Bipolar disorder type 1, as one of the most challenging psychiatric disorders, is associated with extensive deficits in executive functions, reduced psychological flexibility, and impaired psychological wellbeing, which in turn aggravate the course of the disease and make it difficult to respond to treatment. Despite the effectiveness of pharmacological treatments in controlling acute symptoms, their impact on sustained improvement in patients' cognitive and psychosocial functions is limited, underscoring the need for complementary psychological interventions. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) encourages psychological flexibility, acceptance of one's experiences, and commitment to behaviors consistent with one's ideals. ACT can be an effective treatment for patients with bipolar depression. Therefore, this research was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of ACT on executive functions, psychological flexibility, and psychological wellbeing of male patients aged 20–55 years with bipolar disorder type 1.
Methods: The study used a quasi–experimental design with a pretest, posttest, and follow–up, and a control group. The study population consisted of all male patients hospitalized with bipolar disorder type 1, totaling 120 individuals in one of the hospitals in Hamadan City, Iran, in the year 2024. The statistical sample comprised 34 participants selected via convenience sampling who met the inclusion criteria and were randomly assigned to two groups: an experimental group and a control group (17 individuals each). The inclusion criteria for the subjects in the study were as follows: male patients with bipolar I disorder; age range 20–55 years; willingness to cooperate and fill out the informed consent form and approval by the university ethics committee; diagnosis of bipolar I disorder based on the opinion of a psychiatrist; being under treatment for at least one year; and having at least a cycle of education. The exclusion criteria for the subjects from the study included being discharged from a treatment center, having psychotic disorders, having a physical illness or substance abuse, missing more than two treatment sessions for any reason, and withdrawing from the study for personal reasons. To collect data, the following questionnaires were used: the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (Grant & Berg, 1948), the Personalized Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire (Kashdan et al., 2020), and the Psychological Wellbeing Questionnaire (Ryff, 1989). The experimental group underwent acceptance and commitment therapy (Hayes et al., 2010) over eight 90–minute sessions, once a week for two months, while the control group received no therapeutic intervention. After data collection, the mean and standard deviation were used for descriptive statistics. At the inferential statistics level, analysis of variance with repeated measures and a Bonferroni post hoc test were used at the 0.01 significance level. All analyses were conducted in SPSS software version 26.
Results: The results showed that the effects of time (p<0.001), group (p<0.001), and the interaction between time and group (p<0.001) on the variables of executive functions, psychological flexibility, Also, in the experimental group, there was a significant difference between the pretest, posttest, and follow–up in variables of the executive functions (p<0.001), psychological flexibility (p<0.001) and psychological wellbeing (p<0.001). However, no significant difference was observed between the post–test and follow–up in the three aforementioned variables (p>0.01).
Conclusion: Therefore, acceptance and commitment therapy is useful to enhance executive functions, psychological flexibility, and psychological wellbeing in male patients aged 20–55 years with bipolar disorder type 1.

Keywords: Executive functions, Psychological flexibility, Psychological wellbeing, Acceptance and commitment therapy, Male patients aged 20–55 years with bipolar disorder type 1

Full-Text [PDF 335 kb] (27 Downloads)

Type of Study: Original Research Article | Subject: Psychology

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