Effectiveness of Mentalization Based Therapy on The Difficulty of Emotional Regulation and Aggression of Depressed Female Adolescents

Ghaffari Cherati, Manizheh; Mohammadi Pour, Mohammad; Azizi, Alireza

doi:10.22034/jmpr.2023.54765.5349

Effectiveness of Mentalization Based Therapy on The Difficulty of Emotional Regulation and Aggression of Depressed Female Adolescents

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

¹ PhD student in psychology, Bojnord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bojnord, Iran.

² Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Qochan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qochan, Iran.

³ Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.

10.22034/jmpr.2023.54765.5349

Abstract

The present study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of Mentalization based therapy on the difficulty of emotional regulation and aggression of depressed female adolescents. The research method of the present study was quasi-experimental with pretest, posttest and control group design and a two-month follow-up phase and follow-up period in two months. The statistical population of the present study included female adolescents with depressive disorder who referred to education counseling centers in Babol city in the academic year of 2021-2022. 30 female adolescent with depressive disorder were selected through purposive sampling method and randomly accommodated into experimental and control groups (15 adolescent in the experimental group and 15 adolescent in the control group). The experimental group received Mentalization based therapy (10 sessions) during 10 weeks (90 minutes). The applied questionnaires in this study included Adolescent Depression Questionnaire (Kutcher, 2002), Difficulty in Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Gratz & Roemer, 2004) and Aggression Questionnaire (Buss & Perry, 1992). The data were analyzed through mixed ANOVA and Bonferroni follow-up test via SPSS23 software. The results showed that Mentalization based therapy is effective on the difficulty of emotional regulation (F=33.28; Eta=0.54; p<0001) and aggression (F=48.60; Eta=0.63; p<0001) of depressed female adolescents. According to the findings of the present study, Mentalization based therapy can be used as an efficient method to decreace difficulty of emotional regulation and aggression of depressed female adolescents through employing techniques such as thoughts, emotions, and behaviors associated with mindfulness.

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