ABSTRACT
Educational assessments can affect students' mental health, particularly during a pandemic. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) are widely efficacious for reducing test anxiety, as well as general anxiety and rumination. However, the effectiveness of these two therapies for students during COVID-19 is unclear. We measured the effectiveness of ACT and CBT for managing test anxiety, general anxiety, and rumination during COVID-19 for 77 students taking Türkiye's national university entrance exam, assigned to either the ACT or CBT psychoeducation programs. Both programs reduced test anxiety, general anxiety, and rumination, and showed similar levels of effectiveness. This suggests that ACT and CBT are both important for improving students' mental health during COVID-19 and either may be beneficial.
ABSTRACT
The need for psychosocial intervention programmes to address the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdown restrictions on the mental health of young people is evident. Using a within subject pretest-posttest design, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)-based anxiety and depression management psychoeducation programmes on mental health and coping skills in youth ages 14–20. The Demographic Information Form, Revised Child Anxiety Depression Scale, and KidCope were administered before and after the psychoeducational programme to assess programme outcomes. The results indicate significant decreases in levels of anxiety, significant decreases in avoidance of anxiety-provoking situations and significant increases in coping skills following the online CBT Anxiety Management Psychoeducation Program. A significant decrease in depression scores was noted among the online CBT Depression Management Psychoeducation Program participants. Although these results should be interpreted cautiously due to limitations of the study (e.g., no control group, high attrition), they suggest that psychological prevention or intervention programmes may be beneficial for young people who are physically unable to go to school or who cannot interact face-to-face with social support networks. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of School Psychology International is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
ABSTRACT
Current findings suggest that many people experience high levels of anxiety, depressive symptoms and life dissatisfaction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the effects of the pandemic and life changes during the new normal of social restrictions in Turkey are yet to be examined. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence, correlates and predictors of life satisfaction, anxiety symptoms, and depressive symptoms during the new normal of ongoing social restrictions. This is a cross-sectional study conducted online with 352 participants living in Turkey. Measures included the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and Satisfaction with Life Scales. Sociodemographic variables and questions relating to the COVID-19 were collected. The results showed that low social communication and the sense of being restricted were significant predictors of life dissatisfaction, depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms. Of the participants, 91.5% were dissatisfied with their lives during the new normal of social restrictions. In addition, nearly half of the participants showed depressive symptoms (55.7%) and anxiety symptoms (54.3%). The present study suggested that social communication might be a key factor to improve psychological wellbeing. Considering the long-term effects of the pandemic on public mental health, developing effective preventive measures and intervention strategies are crucial. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Turkish) Mevcut bulgular, bircok insanin COVID-19 salgini nedeniyle yuksek duzeyde kaygi, depresyon ve yasam memnuniyetsizligi yasadigini gostermektedir. Bununla birlikte, Turkiye'de yeni normalin getirdigi sosyal kisitlamalar sirasinda pandeminin ve yasam degisikliklerinin etkileri henuz pek incelenmemistir. Bu calismanin amaci, yeni normal doneminde devam eden sosyal kisitlamalarda yasam doyumunun kaygi belirtilerinin ve depresif belirtilerin yayginligini incelemek, iliskili faktorlerini ve yordayicilarini arastirmaktir. Turkiye'de yasayan 352 katilimci ile cevrimici olarak yurutulen kesitsel bir calismadir. Olcum araci olarak Yaygin Kaygi Bozuklugu-7, Hasta Sagligi Anketi-9 ve Yasam Memnuniyet Olcegi kullanilmistir. Ayrica sosyodemografik degiskenler ve COVID-19 ile ilgili sorular da cevaplandirilmistir. Dusuk sosyal iletisim ve kisitlanmis olma duygusunun yasam memnuniyetsizliginin, depresif belirtilerin ve kaygi belirtilerinin anlamli yordayicilari oldugu gosterilmistir. Katilimcilarin %91,5'i yeni normalin getirdigi sosyal kisitlamalar sirasinda hayatlarindan memnun olmadigini belirtmistir. Ayrica, katilimcilarin yaklasik yarisinin depresif belirtiler (%55,7) ve kaygi belirtileri (%54,3) gosterdigi bulunmustur. Bu calisma, sosyal iletisimin psikolojik iyilik halini iyilestirmede anahtar bir faktor olabilecegini one surmektedir. Pandeminin halkin ruh sagligi uzerindeki uzun vadeli etkileri dusunuldugunde, etkili onleyici tedbirler ve mudahale stratejileri gelistirmek cok onemlidir. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)