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Comparative Effectiveness of Dialectical Behavior Therapy and a Psycho-Educational Package on Self-Harming Behaviors and Intolerance of Uncertainty in Female High School Students with Substance Use Tendency
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Zhila Niazi Mirak    , Mohammad Narimani * , Seyfollah Aghajani , Akbar Atadkht |
| University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Ardabil, Iran , narimani@uma.ac.ir |
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Abstract: (4 Views) |
Background and Aim: Adolescence is accompanied by extensive biological, cognitive, and emotional changes, and heightened emotional vulnerability during this period can predispose adolescents to high-risk behaviors. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and a psychoeducational package on self-harm behaviors and intolerance of uncertainty among female high school students with a tendency toward substance use.
Methods: This quasi-experimental study employed a pretest-posttest and follow-up design with a control group. Forty-five at-risk female students were randomly assigned to three groups of 15 each. The intervention groups received twelve 90-minute sessions of either DBT skills training or the psychoeducational package, while the control group received no intervention. The research instruments included the Addiction Tendency Questionnaire, the Inventory of Statements about Self-Injury (ISAS), and the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS).
Results: Findings indicated that the main effects of time (p=0.216) and group (p=0.322), as well as the time ×times× group interaction effect (p=0.225were not statistically significant for self-harm behaviors, indicating that the interventions did not significantly reduce these behaviors. In contrast, for intolerance of uncertainty, the time ×times× group interaction was statistically significant (p=0.011). In the posttest, both interventions significantly reduced intolerance of uncertainty compared to the control group (p<0.001), with no significant difference between the two active interventions (p=1.000). However, at the follow-up stage, only the psychoeducational package maintained a significant difference compared to the control group (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Both interventions led to a significant reduction in intolerance of uncertainty at post-test compared with the control group (P < 0.01), with no significant difference between the two interventions (P > 0.05). At follow-up, only the psychoeducational package maintained a significant difference from the control group (P < 0.01), whereas dialectical behavior therapy did not differ significantly from the control group (P > 0.05), indicating greater durability of the psychoeducational package's effect in the long term. |
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| Keywords: Adolescent girls, Substance use tendency, Self-harming behaviors, Intolerance of uncertainty, Dialectical behavior therapy, Psycho-educational package |
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
medicine, paraclinic
Received: 2026/07/12 | Revised: 2026/09/16 | Accepted: 2026/09/16
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