Comparing the Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy based on Self-compassion and Schema Therapy on Perceived Stress in Women Suffering Chronic Fatigue Syndrome due to Intimate Partner Violence

Sasanian, Farahdokht; Rezaei-Jamalouei, Hasan; Ansarei-Shahidei, Mojtaba

Volume 13 - Articles-1402 MEJDS (2023) 13: 85 | Back to browse issues page

Ethics code: IR.IAU.NAJAFABAD.REC.1400.015

Mendeley

Zotero

RefWorks

Sasanian F, Rezaei-Jamalouei H, Ansarei-Shahidei M. Comparing the Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy based on Self-compassion and Schema Therapy on Perceived Stress in Women Suffering Chronic Fatigue Syndrome due to Intimate Partner Violence. MEJDS 2023; 13 :85-85
URL: http://jdisabilstud.org/article-1-3054-en.html

Comparing the Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy based on Self-compassion and Schema Therapy on Perceived Stress in Women Suffering Chronic Fatigue Syndrome due to Intimate Partner Violence

Farahdokht Sasanian¹

, Hasan Rezaei-Jamalouei ^*²

, Mojtaba Ansarei-Shahidei²

1- PhD Student in Health Psychology, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran
2- Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran

Abstract: (872 Views)

Abstract
Background & Objectives: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) poses a complex and debilitating challenge, with violence from a partner identified as one of the important causes of this syndrome. Women are nearly twice as likely as men to be affected by this syndrome. Women who have experienced intimate partner violence are at risk of this disease. Stress is one of the most critical aggravating factors of CFS. Today, one widely–used treatment to reduce stress is third–wave cognitive behavioral therapy. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) belongs to these approaches. Researchers and therapists of ACT investigate the role of self–compassion in psychotherapy. Self–compassion is one of the essential variables in adulthood. Schema Therapy is another treatment approach that has a notable impact on psychological improvement. This research aimed to compare ACT's effectiveness based on self–compassion versus Schema Therapy on perceived stress in women suffering chronic fatigue syndrome caused by intimate partner violence.
Methods: This quasi–experimental research employed a pretest–posttest and follow–up design with a control group. The study population comprised all women living in Tehran, Iran, suffering from CFS due to intimate partner violence from 2021 to 2022. Three hundred women of this population were evaluated using the Revised version of the Conflict Tactics Scale (Straus & Douglas, 2004) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) questionnaire (Jason et al., 2011). Then, among them, 80 women suffering from CFS and experienced violence from their husbands were identified. In the next stage, according to the inclusion criteria, 60 qualified volunteers were included in the study. They were randomly assigned to two intervention groups and one control group (20 people in each group).
One of the experimental groups received 8 sessions of ACT based on self–compassion therapy, and the other experimental group received 12 sessions of Schema Therapy. However, the control group received no intervention. All sessions were held for 90 minutes once a week via Skype application. In both groups, in the pretest, posttest, and follow–up stages, the perceived stress variable was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen et al., 1983). The content of the ACT intervention focused on self–compassion was prepared based on Yadavaia's (2013) dissertation and Gilbert's (2010) guidelines. This intervention was conducted in eight 90–minute group training sessions (once a week) for the first experimental group. The schema–based intervention was prepared based on instructions and techniques of Schema Therapy (adapted from Young et al., 2003). This intervention was conducted in twelve 90–minute group sessions (once a week) for the second experimental group. Data analysis was carried out in two parts: descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The mean and standard deviation were used at the descriptive statistics level. At the inferential statistics level, we used variance analysis with repeated measures and the Bonferroni post hoc test in SPSS version 23. The significance level of the tests was 0.05.
Results: Both time and the interactive effect of time and group on perceived stress variables were significant (p<0.001), but the group effect was not significant (p=0.091). In the intervention groups, the differences between the mean scores of the perceived stress variable in the pretest, posttest, and follow–up were significant (p<0.001). However, the differences between the mean scores of the mentioned variable in the posttest with follow–up stages in the groups of Schema Therapy (p=0.181) and ACT based on self–compassion (p=0.284) were not significant, which showed the stability of the treatment effects over time.
Conclusion: Based on the research findings, both treatment methods reduced perceived stress in women with chronic fatigue syndrome caused by intimate partner violence. So, psychologists and mental health professionals can choose either approach based on their preferences to treat these women.

Keywords: Acceptance and commitment based on self–compassion, Schema therapy, Perceived stress, Chronic fatigue syndrome, Intimate partner violence

Full-Text [PDF 707 kb] (288 Downloads)

Type of Study: Original Research Article | Subject: Psychology

References

1. Hockey R. The psychology of fatigue: work, effort and control. First edition. Cambridge University Press; 2013. [DOI]

2. Stith SM, Spencer CM, Ripoll‐Núñez KJ, Jaramillo‐Sierra AL, Khodadadi‐Andariyeh F, Nikparvar F, et al. International adaptation of a treatment program for situational couple violence. J Marital Fam Ther. 2020;46(2):272–88. [DOI]

3. Rimes KA, Wingrove J. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for people with chronic fatigue syndrome still experiencing excessive fatigue after cognitive behaviour therapy: a pilot randomized study: mindfulness based cognitive therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome. Clin Psychol Psychother. 2013;20(2):107–17. [DOI]

4. Cooper CL, Quick JC. The handbook of stress and health: a guide to research and practice. New York: John Wiley & Sons; 2017. [DOI]

5. Akbarian M, Mohammadi Shirmahaleh F, Borjali A, Hassanabadi H, Abolghasemi Sh. The effect of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on depression, chronic fatigue and pain intensity in patients with fibromyalgia: a study with expected effect. Internal Medicine Today. 2022;28(1):70–85. [Persian] [DOI]

6. Sidan SA, Ziaei S. Effectiveness of stress management training on quality of life and resilience of women victims of domestic violence. Medical Journal of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. 2019;61(1):12–19. [Persian] [Article]

7. Hayes SC, Strosahl K, Wilson KG, Bissett RT, Pistorello J, Toarmino D, et al. Measuring experiential avoidance: a preliminary test of a working model. Psychol Rec. 2004;54(4):553–78. [DOI]

8. Nasiri S, Ghorbani M, Adibi P. The effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy in quality of life in patients with functional gastro intestinal disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2015;7(4):93–105. [Persian] [Article]

9. Neff KD. The role of self-compassion in development: a healthier way to relate to oneself. Human Development. 2009;52(4):211–4. [DOI]

10. Homan KJ, Sirois FM. Self-compassion and physical health: exploring the roles of perceived stress and health-promoting behaviors. Health Psychol Open. 2017;4(2):205510291772954. [DOI]

11. Ghasemi N, Goudarzi M, Ghazanfari F. The effectiveness of compassion-based therapy on cognitive emotion regulation, shame and guilt-proneness and mindfulness components in patients with mixed anxiety- depression disorder. Clinical Psychology Studies. 2019;9(34):145–66. [Persian] [Article]

12. Marsh IC, Chan SWY, MacBeth A. Self-compassion and psychological distress in adolescents—a meta-analysis. Mindfulness. 2018;9(4):1011–27. [DOI]

13. Young JE, Klosko JS, Weishaar ME. Schema therapy: a practitioner's guide. Hamidpour H, Andoz Z. (Persian translator). Tehran: Arjmand publications; 2021.

14. Straus MA, Douglas EM. A Short Form of the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales, and typologies for severity and mutuality. Violence Vict. 2004;19(5):507–20. [DOI]

15. Jason LA, Evans M, Brown M, Porter N, Brown A, Hunnell J, et al. Fatigue scales and chronic fatigue syndrome: issues of sensitivity and specificity. Disabil Stud Q. 2011;31(1):1375.

16. Cohen S, Kamarck T, Mermelstein R. A global measure of perceived stress. J Health Soc Behav. 1983;24(4):385. [DOI]

17. Al Sunni A, Latif R. Perceived stress among medical students in preclinical years: a Saudi Arabian perspective. Saudi Journal for Health Sciences. 2014;3(3):155–9.

18. Haddadi M, Zakerian SA, Mahmoudi M, Nasl Saraji J, Parsa Yekta Z, Aliyari A. Investigation of chronic fatigue syndrome questionnaire validity and reliability CFS (DSQ Revised). Journal of School of Public Health and Institute of Public Health Research. 2014;12(1):75–84. [Persian] [Article]

19. Astane Z, Mahmude Alilo M. Interactive role of health promotion lifestyle on the relationship between chronic fatigue syndrome and personality factors (Case study; Employees of Amiralmomenin Hospital in Tabriz). Health Psychology, 2019;8(30):81-96. [DOI]

20. Panaghi L, Dehghani M, Abbasi M, Mohammadi S, Maleki Gh. Investigating reliability, validity and factor structure of the revised conflict tactics scale. Journal of Family Research. 2011;7(1);103–17. [Persian] [Article]

21. Yadavaia JE. Using acceptance and commitment therapy to decrease high-prevalence psychopathology by targeting self-compassion: a randomized controlled trial [PhD dissertation]. [Nevada]: University of Nevada, Reno; 2013. [DOI]

22. Gilbert P. Compassion focused therapy: a special section. Int J Cogn Ther. 2010;3(2):95–6. [DOI]

23. Young JE, Klosko JS, Weishaar ME. Schema therapy: a practitioner's guide. New York: Guilford Press; 2003.

24. Rezayi S. Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on reducing depression, anxiety and stress in parents with autistic children. Clinical Psychology Studies. 2020;10(38):56–78. [Persian] [Article]

25. Barzegar E, Zohrei E, Bostanipour A, Fotohabadi Kh, Ebrahimi Sh, Hoseinnia M. The effectiveness of acceptance and commitment group therapy on perceived stress and aggression in women with premenstrual syndrome. Psychological Studies. 2018;14(3):163–78. [Persian] [Article]

26. Mohammadi SY, Soufi A. The effectiveness of acceptance and commitment treatment on quality of life and perceived stress in cancer patients. Health Psychology. 2019;8(32):57–72. [Persian] [Article]

27. Hadi Toroghi H, Masoudi Sh. The effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on the reduction of perceived stress in the elderly afflicted by chronic pain. Aging Psychology. 2019;5(1):1–11. [Persian] [Article]

28. Graham CD, Gillanders D, Stuart S, Gouick J. An acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)–based intervention for an adult experiencing post-stroke anxiety and medically unexplained symptoms. Clinical Case Studies. 2015;14(2):83–97. [DOI]

29. Biglan A, Hayes SC, Pistorello J. Acceptance and commitment: implications for prevention science. Prev Sci. 2008;9(3):139–52. [DOI]

30. Hemmati Sabet A, Navabi Nejad S, Khalatbari J. Comparison of scheme therapy and cognitive group therapy on women's perceived stress with high risky sexual behavior. Journal of Educational Psychology. 2016;7(2):1–12. [Persian] [Article]

31. Spijkerman MPJ, Pots WTM, Bohlmeijer ET. Effectiveness of online mindfulness-based interventions in improving mental health: a review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Clin Psychol Rev. 2016;45:102–14. [DOI]

32. Lappalainen P, Granlund A, Siltanen S, Ahonen S, Vitikainen M, Tolvanen A, et al. ACT internet-based vs face-to-face? a randomized controlled trial of two ways to deliver acceptance and commitment therapy for depressive symptoms: an 18–month follow-up. Behav Res Ther. 2014;61:43–54. [DOI]