Comparison of the Effectiveness of Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Meichenbaum-Based Cognitive Therapy in Reducing Shyness in Students with Social Anxiety Disorder
Keywords:
Shyness, social illness, dialectical behavior therapy, Maikenbaum cognitive-behavioral therapyAbstract
Objective: The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Meichenbaum-based Cognitive Therapy in reducing shyness among students diagnosed with social anxiety disorder.
Methodology: This research employed a quasi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest and control group. The statistical population included middle school students in the Tabadkan district of Mashhad during the 2023–2024 academic year. From this population, 45 students with social anxiety disorder were selected through purposive sampling and were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group (15 participants per group). The first experimental group received Dialectical Behavior Therapy over 8 sessions of 60 minutes each, while the second experimental group underwent Meichenbaum-based Cognitive Therapy across 10 sessions of 60 minutes each. The control group did not receive any intervention until the end of the study. The research instrument was the Briggs–Cheek Shyness Questionnaire (1990), which was administered as a pretest, posttest, and follow-up across all three groups. The collected data were entered into SPSS version 26 and analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and post hoc tests.
Findings: The results indicated that both interventions significantly reduced students’ shyness levels (p < 0.005), whereas the control group did not exhibit any significant changes.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that both Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Meichenbaum-based Cognitive Therapy can serve as effective interventions within school counseling programs for managing shyness in adolescents with social anxiety disorder.
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