Feasibility and Preliminary Outcomes of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)–Based Psychoeducational Group Intervention for Earthquake-Affected Adolescents
The Effects of ACT on the Anxiety, Psychological Flexibility, and Psychological Resilience of Adolescents
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63175/tjts.56Keywords:
Adolescents, Earthquake, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Anxiety, Psychological flexibility, ResilienceAbstract
Background: Adolescents exposed to natural disasters are at heightened risk for anxiety, psychological rigidity, and reduced resilience. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) emphasizes psychological flexibility as a core mechanism for adaptive coping and may represent a promising intervention framework for disaster-affected youth. However, evidence regarding its feasibility and preliminary outcomes in post-earthquake adolescent populations remains limited.
Methods: This quasi-experimental study employed a pretest–posttest control group design. The sample consisted of 20 adolescents aged 14–16 years who had directly experienced the 6 February 2023 earthquakes in Hatay, Türkiye. Participants were allocated to an experimental group (n = 10) receiving a six-session ACT-based group intervention or to a control group (n = 10) receiving a single-session psychoeducational meeting. Anxiety was assessed using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), psychological flexibility and inflexibility using the Multidimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory–Short Form for Adolescents (MPFI-SF), and resilience using the Child and Youth Resilience Measure–Short Form (CYRM-12). Nonparametric statistical analyses (Wilcoxon Signed-Rank and Mann–Whitney U tests) were conducted due to small sample size.
Results: Within-group analyses indicated significant reductions in anxiety (Z = −3.79, p < .001) and psychological inflexibility (Z = −3.78, p < .001), alongside significant increases in psychological flexibility (Z = −3.78, p < .001) and resilience (Z = −3.72, p < .001) in the experimental group. No significant changes were observed in the control group (p > .05). Posttest comparisons revealed significant between-group differences favoring the experimental group across all outcome variables (p ≤ .002), with large effect sizes (r = .70–.85).
Conclusion: The findings suggest that ACT-based group intervention may contribute to reduced anxiety and enhanced psychological flexibility and resilience among earthquake-exposed adolescents. Although preliminary and limited by small sample size, the results indicate that ACT may be a feasible and potentially effective approach in post-disaster youth mental health interventions. Further randomized controlled studies with larger samples are recommended.
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