The Effectiveness of Schema Therapy on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Depression in At-Risk Girls Referred to the Social Emergency Center of Amol County
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61838/Keywords:
Schema Therapy, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, At-Risk Girls, Social Emergency CenterAbstract
Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of schema therapy on post-traumatic stress disorder and depression among at-risk girls referred to the Social Emergency Center of Amol County.
Methods and Materials: This study employed a quasi-experimental design with a pretest–posttest control group approach. The statistical population consisted of all at-risk girls aged 15 to 18 years referred to the 123 Social Emergency Center of Amol County in 2025. Using purposive sampling and based on inclusion criteria, 30 participants were selected and randomly assigned into experimental (n = 15) and control (n = 15) groups. The experimental group received eight sessions of schema therapy intervention, whereas the control group received no intervention. Data collection instruments included the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire developed by Wadders et al. (1993) and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (1996). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS version 26.
Findings: The findings indicated that schema therapy significantly reduced post-traumatic stress disorder and depression among participants in the experimental group compared to the control group. The ANCOVA results showed a statistically significant difference between the two groups in PTSD symptoms after controlling for pretest scores (F = 19.12, p = 0.001, η² = 0.44). Similarly, a significant reduction was observed in depression scores in the experimental group compared to the control group (F = 17.85, p = 0.001, η² = 0.41). The obtained effect sizes demonstrated that schema therapy had a strong therapeutic impact on reducing trauma-related and depressive symptoms among at-risk adolescent girls.
Conclusion: The results of the present study demonstrated that schema therapy is an effective intervention for reducing post-traumatic stress disorder and depression among at-risk girls.
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