Comparison of the Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Reality Therapy in Suicidal Ideation, Self-Harming Behaviors, and Aggression in Adolescents

Adolescence is one of the most critical and sensitive stages of human development associated with the confusion of needs. Suicidal tendencies are directly related to unmet needs, feelings of despair and helplessness, conflicts in life, and unbearable stress. The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy and reality therapy in suicidal ideation, self-harm, and aggression in adolescents.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted based on a pretest-posttest multi-group design with a follow-up period. The statistical population of this study included 12th-grade female students in Sari in the academic year of 2019-2020. Out of this population, 60 subjects were selected via the purposive sampling method and assigned to three groups (n=20 in each group): acceptance and commitment, reality, and control groups. The research tool included the Bass and Perry Aggression Questionnaire (1992), Suicide Thought Questionnaire by Mohammadifar, Habibi and Besharat (2005), and Self-Harm Inventory (Sansone, Wiederman, and Sansone,1998). Data were analyzed using multivariate and univariate covariance in SPSS software (version 18).

The results pointed out that acceptance and commitment therapy and reality therapy affected suicidal ideation, self-harm, and aggression in adolescents. Moreover,  it was detected that acceptance and commitment therapy had a more significant effect on suicidal tendencies, self-harm, and aggression in adolescents than in reality therapy (P<0.001).

As evidenced by the results of this study, acceptance and commitment therapy and reality therapy can be used to reduce suicidal ideation, self-harming behaviors, and aggression in adolescents.