Effect of a religious coping intervention of rational emotive behavior therapy on mental health of adult learners with type II diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Some previous studies have highlighted the high rate of mental health problems associated with type II diabetes (T2DM). The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a religious coping intervention of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) on the mental health of adult learners with T2DM. METHODS: This study utilized a randomized controlled trial to select 146 adult learners with T2DM and mental health-related problems. The treatment group was made up of 73 adult learners, while the control group was also made up of 73 adult learners. The experimental group received 8 sessions of a religious coping intervention of REBT, while the control group received usual care. Data were collected using the patient health questionnaire, Warwick-Edinburgh mental well-being scale, and Kessler psychological distress scale. Repeated ANOVA and univariate analysis of covariance were used for data analyses. RESULTS: The religious coping intervention of REBT substantially enhanced the mental health of adult learners with T2DM as measured by Warwick-Edinburgh mental well-being scale (P < .000) and patient health questionnaire (P < .000). The religious coping intervention of REBT significantly alleviated the psychological distress of adult learners with T2DM as measured by Kessler psychological distress scale (P < .000). CONCLUSION: In this study, it has been demonstrated that a religious coping intervention of REBT effectively improves the mental health of adult learners with T2DM. The study concludes that the religious coping intervention of REBT is a practical alternative medicine approach to enhancing the mental health of adult learners with T2DM.

Effect of a randomized group intervention for depression among Nigerian pre-service adult education teachers.

OBJECTIVE: Studies show that depression undermines the mental health of pre-service teachers. The objective of this research was to determine whether a rational emotive behavior intervention will be effective in treating depression among Nigerian pre-service adult education teachers. METHODS: The study participants comprise 70 pre-service adult education teachers with moderate to severe depression. The treatment arm consist 35 pre-service adult education teachers, while the control arm consist 35 pre-service adult education teachers. With randomized control group design, an 8-week rational emotive behavior intervention was delivered to the treatment arm while the control arm participants were waitlisted. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and Goldberg Depression Scale (GDS) were used for data collection. We utilized repeated ANOVA to analyze the study data collected at 3 time points (pretest, post-test, and follow-up). RESULTS: The rational-emotive behavior intervention was significantly effective in reducing the mean depression scores of pre-service adult education teachers in the treatment arm when compared to those in the control arm (HDRS: P  < .001, η p2  = 0.869; GDS: P  < .001, η p2  = 0.827). The treatment intervention consistently reduced mean depression scores of the pre-service adult education teachers at follow-up compared to the control arm (HDRS: P  < .000, 95% confidence interval: -24.049, -19.837, η p2  = 0.864; GDS: P  < .001, 95% confidence interval: -37.587 to 31.213, η p2  = 0.872). The results also showed significant effects of Time as well as significant interaction effects of Time and Group on HDRS and GDS scores of pre-service adult education teachers. CONCLUSION: The study concludes that among pre-service adult education teachers, a rational emotive behavior therapy treatment model was significantly effective and consistent in depression treatment. It is crucial to apply this rational-emotive behavior treatment approach in depression treatment among Nigerian pre-service adult education teachers. Compliance to the REBT treatment plans and timing is very crucial in achieving desired results.

Managing social anxiety among undergraduate adult education and extra-mural studies students: An intervention study.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Anxiety is a significant problem affecting University students including undergraduate adult education and extra-mural studies students. This research evaluated the impact of a group rational-emotive behavioral education intervention (group rational-emotive behavioral education intervention [REBEI]) on social anxiety symptoms among undergraduate adult education and extra-mural studies students. METHOD: Eighty six students participated in the study by belonging to either treatment group (n = 43) or control group (n = 43). A REBEI treatment program was developed by the researchers was used to implement the experiment and data was collected using a 22-item questionnaire on social anxiety. Analyzes of data were done using repeated measures ANOVA and paired t-test. RESULTS: Results showed that despite the social anxiety experienced before exposure to the intervention, the social anxiety symptoms of the undergraduate adult education and extra-mural studies students in the treatment group reduced significantly at post-treatment and follow-up compared to students in the control group. CONCLUSION: REBEI demonstrated its clinical usefulness in treating undergraduate adult education and extra-mural studies students with social anxiety problem.

Effect of a critical thinking intervention on stress management among undergraduates of adult education and extramural studies programs.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine the effect of a critical thinking intervention (CTI) on stress management among undergraduates of adult education and extramural studies programs. METHOD: A total of 44 undergraduates were randomly sorted into experimental and waitlist control groups. We used the Perceived Stress Scale for data collection at the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up stages. We used unpaired t and paired t-tests to analyze the data collected. SPSS version 22.0 was used for the data analyses (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). RESULTS: It was shown that the CTI was effective in reducing the mean stress of the participants compared to the control group both in the post-test (t[42] = -22.453, P < .001) and follow-up periods (t[42] = -34.292, P < .001). There were statistically significant changes in the mean stress of participants in the experimental group from the pre-test to post-test phases (t[23] = 26.30, P = .000, r = .08], and from pre-test to follow-up(t[23] = 37.10, P = .000, r = .30). The mean stress of the participants in the experimental group from post-test to follow-up signified the sustained positive influence of the CTI on the mean stress (t[23] = 2.41, P = .000, r = .46) of the undergraduates. CONCLUSION: This study adds to the literature by showing that a CTI is a valuable strategy for stress reduction in a university environment. Given that the CTI demonstrated the ability to reduce stress among undergraduates enrolled in adult education and extramural studies programs, we hope that similar interventions will be adopted to manage and prevent stress among students in other departments and disciplines.

A stress management intervention for adults living with HIV in Nigerian community settings: An effects study.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the effectiveness of a group-based cognitive-behavioral stress management intervention among community-dwelling adults living with HIV in Southeastern Nigeria. METHOD: A total of 28 HIV-positive adults meeting the criteria for high perceived stress, anxiety, and depression were randomized into 1 of 2 groups: treatment group (n = 14); and no-treatment control group (n = 14). Stress level was measured using the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). Depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed using Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Secondary outcome measure was Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). The intervention was delivered over the course of 10 weeks, using an evidence-based cognitive-behavioral stress management manual. We employed repeated-measures between and within-subjects analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Eta squared in the analyses and interpretation of data collected from the study participants at 3 time points. RESULTS: Our results showed that, after benefitting from the cognitive behavioral stress management intervention, the PSS-10 and HADS scores were lowered significantly in the treatment group participants than those in the no-treatment control group during evaluations of post-treatment and 3 months follow-up outcomes. Significant improvements were also recorded in the treatment group participants' SWLS scores at post-treatment and follow-up compared with participants in the no-treatment group. CONCLUSION: The present results suggest the need for further implementation of group-based cognitive-behavioral stress management interventions for people living with HIV. Cognitive-behavioral stress management clinicians should make efforts toward identifying HIV-positive adults experiencing psychological distress and design cognitive-behavioral stress management interventions in order to better assist them.