International Journal of Behavioral Sciences

International Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Evaluating an Emotion Regulation Program's Impact on Mood Symptoms and Coping Strategies in Depressed Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Zahra Naghsh
Sogand Ghasemzadeh
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
10.30491/ijbs.2024.450674.2104
Abstract
Introduction: Recent studies have demonstrated the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an emotion regulation training program based on an integrated transdiagnostic treatment approach on mood symptoms and strategies for coping with negative emotions in depressed adolescents during the COVID-19 quarantine period.
Method: This experimental trial study was conducted on 20 depressed adolescents in Tehran, Iran, in 2020. Patients were randomly assigned to two groups (experiment and a control group, each consisting of 10 individuals). The Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC) and the Coping with Children's Negative Emotions Scale (CCNES) were used for this purpose. The experimental group received 19 online sessions, consisting of 16 sessions for adolescents and three sessions for parents. The emotion regulation training program, based on an integrated transdiagnostic treatment approach, was delivered in the form of 75-minute weekly sessions. Data analysis was performed using ANCOVA (R version 2.4), with a significance level of P<0.05.
Results: The two groups were similar in terms of demographic and baseline variables. After the intervention, significant changes were observed in problem-focused (1.55 vs. -0.02, P<0.001), emotion-focused (1.06 vs. -0.01, P<0.001), expressive encouragement (1.55 vs. -0.07, P<0.001), punitive (-1.56 vs. 0.00, P<0.001), minimization (-1.64 vs. -0.01, P<0.001), distress (-1.95 vs. 0.00, P<0.001), emotion regulation (0.62 vs. -0.01, P<0.001), and emotion negativity (-0.58 vs. -0.07, P<0.001) between the two groups.
Conclusion: The results of the current study indicate that an emotion regulation training program based on an integrated transdiagnostic treatment approach is an effective technique for reducing negative emotions and mood symptoms in depressed adolescents during the COVID-19 quarantine period.
Keywords
Keywords: Emotion Regulation
Depression
COVID-19
Adolescence
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International Journal of Behavioral Sciences
Volume 18, Issue 3
Autumn 2024
Pages 133-140