The effectiveness of meaning therapy on self-efficacy and academic engagement in depressed high school students

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of meaning therapy on self-efficacy and academic engagement in depressed high school students. The research method employed was semi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design and a control group, including a three-month follow-up period. The statistical population comprised all depressed students in girls' high schools in Khomein City during the academic year 2021-2022. A sample of 30 individuals was randomly selected, with 15 in each group (experimental and control group) using the purposeful sampling method. For the intervention, the general self-efficacy scale (GSE, Scherer et al., 1982), the academic engagement scale (AES, Zerang, 2012), and a 12-session protocol (one 90-minute session per week) of Hotzel (2002) meaning therapy were utilized. Data analysis was conducted using analysis of variance with repeated measurements. The results indicated a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test stages of self-efficacy (p<0.001) and the follow-up pre-test (p<0.001). Similarly, a significant difference was observed between the pre-test and post-test stages of academic engagement (p<0.001) and the follow-up pre-test (p<0.001), highlighting the effectiveness of the intervention. Therefore, the use of meaning therapy can contribute to an increase in self-efficacy and academic engagement in depressed students.