The effectiveness of mentalization therapy on the difficulty in emotion regulation and self-control in adolescents with high aggression

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of mentalization therapy on the difficulty in emotion regulation and self-control in adolescents with high aggression. The research method was semi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design and a control group with a three-month follow-up period. The statistical population of the research included boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 18 who were referred to the Development Counseling Center in Rasht in the first half of 2023, and 30 people were selected based on the inclusion criteria using a purposive sampling method and were randomly divided into two experimental (15) and control groups. (15). The experimental group received mentalization therapy during 20 75-minute training sessions, once a week. The data collection tool was Bass and Perry's Aggression Questionnaire (AQ, 1992), Gertz and Romer's Difficulty in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS, 2004), and Tanjani et al.'s Self-Control Scale (SCQ, 2004). The results were analyzed using the repeated measurement variance method. The results showed that the effectiveness of mentalization therapy on the variables of difficulty in emotion regulation and self-control is significant (p<0.05). And this effect was permanent in the follow-up phase (p<0.05). Therefore, it is concluded that mentalization therapy can be effective in reducing the difficulty in regulating emotions and increasing self-control in adolescents with high aggression.