The Effectiveness of Teaching Self-Talk Management in Decreasing the Depression Rate among High School Students

The present research aims to study the effect of teaching self-talk management on decreasing the depression rate among students. Using cluster random sampling method, 30 female high school students suffering from depression were selected from among the high school students of the city of Arak. They were randomly put in two groups of control and experiment. The experiment group, which consisted of 15 subjects, was instructed self-talk management in 10 sessions and the control group, which consisted of 15 subjects, did not receive any training. The data were collected using the Beck Depression Questionnaire (long form) in which the sample population obtained the score of 10 (cut-off point) or higher scores. The questionnaire was applied as the pre-test and post-test. The independent t-test was used to analyze the data and calculate the differences in pre-test and post-test scores. The results confirmed the hypothesis of the research that teaching self-talk management is effective in decreasing the depression rate among students. The effect of the independent variable caused a distinctive difference in the average scores of the two groups.