The Effectiveness of Compassion-Focused Therapy on Emotion Regulation and Body Mass Index (BMI) in Overweight Adolescent Girls during Puberty

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Psychology, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran

2 MSc, Department of Psychology, Payam Noor University, Gorgan, Iran

10.22034/jmpr.2025.68712.6778

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) on emotion regulation and body mass index (BMI) in adolescent girls with obesity during puberty. This semi-experimental study employed a pretest–posttest design with a control group. The study population consisted of girls aged 12 to 17 years with BMI at or above the 95th percentile according to the CDC growth charts (2022) in schools of Gorgan during the 2024–2025 academic year. A total of 30 participants were purposively selected and randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups (15 participants each). The research instruments included the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (Gratz & Roemer, 2004) and BMI measurement. The experimental group received 10 sessions of 60-minute CFT, while the control group did not receive any intervention during this period. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) in SPSS version 24. The findings indicated that CFT had a significant effect on emotion regulation and BMI in adolescent girls with obesity during puberty (p<.0/05). Based on these results, CFT improved emotion regulation and reduced BMI in the participants. These findings may inform the design of psychological programs and clinical interventions for adolescent girls with obesity.

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Main Subjects


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Volume 20, Issue 80
January 2026
Pages 104-115
  • Receive Date: 17 August 2025
  • Revise Date: 23 October 2025
  • Accept Date: 02 November 2025