Impact of Religious Coping Techniques on the Well-being and Behavior Regulation of Adolescent Girls Struggling with Behavioral Issues

Adolescence stands out as a critical phase marked by intricate psychological and physiological shifts, often leading to unstable mental states and subsequent behavioral challenges. This study aimed to explore the impact of instruction in religious coping strategies on the overall well-being and regulation of behavioral inhibition and activation systems among adolescent girls struggling with behavioral difficulties.

This quasi-experimental study utilized a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The research encompassed adolescent girls facing behavioral issues who sought guidance from the Counseling Center of the Ministry of Education in District 6 of Mashhad during the academic year of 2019-2020. The sample included 24 students exhibiting behavioral struggles, identified through higher scores on the parent version of the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Random selection formed two groups, each consisting of 12 cases. The experimental group partook in an 8-week program focused on religious coping skills. Data collection involved the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Behavioral Inhibition/Activation Systems Scale (BIS/BAS). Data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 21) using descriptive metrics and univariate analysis of covariance.

The findings revealed significant enhancements induced by religious coping skills training. Significant increases were observed in the overall general health factor (0.88) in the anxiety and social functioning scale (highest increase), as well as the behavioral inhibition/activation systems factor in response to the reward scale(0.80), all at a significance level of P < 0.001.

The outcomes underscore the efficacy of religious coping skills in fostering enhanced overall health and augmenting the regulation of behavioral inhibition/activation systems for adolescent girls facing behavioral challenges. Consequently, it is recommended that counselors incorporate religious coping techniques into their strategies when working with adolescents.