The Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Education based on Intolerance of Uncertainty and Emotional Regulation on Behavioral Activation/Inhibition Systems and Generalized Anxiety Disorder of Students with Social Anxiety Disorder

The main objective of this research work is to examine the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral education (CBE) based on intolerance of uncertainty and emotional regulation on behavioral activation/inhibition systems (BIS) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) of students with social anxiety disorder.

The target population was 300 students at Islamic Azad University of Birjand in 2020. Of these, 231 students completed the social anxiety, generalized anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty questionnaires. A total of 60 students with high scores of social anxieties were identified. A diagnostic interview was conducted on the candidate students by the purposive sampling technique. Finally, the tested students were randomly split into two experimental (CBE-based on intolerance of uncertainty and emotional regulation) and one control group. The experimental group was trained for ten sessions of an hour and a half for the diagnosis and treatment of reading disorders. Two months after training, post-training questionnaires were distributed between the students. Statistical data analysis was performed by SPSS 25.

Analysis of covariance showed that CBE-based on intolerance of uncertainty and emotional regulation significantly changed BIS (p<0.05). The Bonferroni test showed that mean score values of the activation system increased meaningfully in the experimental group compared with the control group. A statistically significant difference was explored between the mean score values of inhibition systems in the two experimental groups. Analysis of covariance also indicated that CBE-based on intolerance of uncertainty and emotional regulation considerably reduced GAD (p<0.05). The Bonferroni test showed that mean score values of GAD reduced significantly in the experimental group compared with the control group.

The results of this study indicate that CBE is an effective educational approach for treating students who struggle with anxiety disorder. It is recommended that CBE be used in university counseling centers for treating students who struggle with anxiety disorder.