Journal of Counseling Research

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Aim: The aim of this study was to identify the effect of integrating positive thinking and resiliency training on body image concerns and social self-efficacy in adolescent boys. Methods: This research was an experimental study with a quasi-experimental design that included a pretest/posttest with a control group. The population included all 10^th grade male students in Tehran’s 16^th district. One of the high schools in that area was selected through convenient sampling method. From the entire 10^th grade students in that high school, 30 were selected based on the highest scores obtained in the Littleton and colleagues (2005) BICI questionnaire and were randomly placed in two experimental and control groups. Then, both groups responded to the Smith and Betz (2000) social self-efficacy scale. Eight approximately 75-minute training sessions of integrating positive thinking and resiliency were conducted for the experimental group, while the control group did not receive any training during this period. At the end of the course of experiment, post-test was performed and the data was analyzed through descriptive statistics and covariance analysis. Findings: The findings showed that training had a significant effect on reducing body image concern and increasing social self-efficacy of adolescents. Conclusions: It can be concluded that integrated training of positive thinking and resiliency can be a suitable method for reducing body image concern and increasing social self-efficacy in adolescents.

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Aim: The present study aimed to examine the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in reducing internalized shame among students with social anxiety. ▌Methods: This study employed a semi-experimental pretest–posttest design with a control group. The statistical population consisted of all male upper secondary school students in Ardabil during the 2022–2023 academic year who exhibited symptoms of social anxiety. Following administration of the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) and a clinical interview, 34 students were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 17) and a control group (n = 17). The experimental group received an ACT intervention based on the protocol developed by Fleming, Kukowski, and Harris, whereas the control group received no intervention. The Internalized Shame Scale (ISS) was administered before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using multivariate and univariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVA and ANCOVA). ▌Results: The findings revealed a significant difference between the experimental and control groups with respect to posttest scores of internalized shame. The results indicated that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) significantly reduced internalized shame in students with social anxiety (p < .05). ▌Conclusion: The findings suggest that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is effective in reducing feelings of internalized shame among students with social anxiety and may be considered a useful intervention for this population.