The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Anxiety, Metacognitive and Meta-Emotional Beliefs in Obese Women with Eating Disorders in Khomain City

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on anxiety, metacognitive beliefs, and meta-emotional beliefs in obese women with eating disorders in Khomain City.

Methodology: This study employed a quasi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest structure and control and experimental groups. The statistical population consisted of obese women who visited counseling centers in District 2 of Tehran in 2023. The sampling method was purposive, based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the sample size was determined using G*Power software. Participants were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups. Anxiety, metacognitive beliefs, meta-emotional beliefs, and eating disorder questionnaires were administered to both the experimental and control groups in the pretest and posttest phases. The experimental group underwent ten sessions of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy based on the model proposed by Foreman and Herbert. Data analysis was performed using covariance analysis. All statistical procedures were conducted using SPSS version 25, with a significance level set at p < 0.05.

Findings: The results indicated a significant difference in posttest mean scores of anxiety, metacognitive beliefs, positive meta-emotion, negative meta-emotion, and eating disorder symptoms between the experimental and control groups (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Based on the findings, it can be concluded that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is effective in reducing anxiety, modifying metacognitive beliefs, and influencing meta-emotional beliefs in obese women with eating disorders.