Examining the Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Therapy on Adaptive and Maladaptive Emotion Regulation in Students with Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Mindfulness-based therapy improved emotion regulation among female students with body dysmorphic disorder in Isfahan. In an experimental design with pre-test, post-test, and follow-up stages, 40 participants were randomly assigned to either an eight-session mindfulness intervention or a waiting-list control. Repeated measures analysis of variance and Bonferroni post-hoc tests indicated that the intervention enhanced dimensions of emotion regulation as measured by the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. The authors conclude that mindfulness is an effective approach for improving emotion regulation in this population.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based therapy on resilience and emotion regulation among students with body dysmorphic disorder in Isfahan. The research employed an experimental design with pre-test, post-test, and follow-up stages using control and experimental groups. The statistical population included all students with body dysmorphic disorder who had referred to counseling and psychotherapy centers in Isfahan. From this population, 40 female students were purposefully selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria and were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. All participants were assessed using the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire developed by Garnefski and Kraaij (2006) across three stages. While the control group was placed on a waiting list, the experimental group received eight 90-minute sessions of mindfulness-based therapy. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (repeated measures ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc test). The results indicated that this intervention improved various dimensions of emotion regulation among the female participants in the sample. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that mindfulness is an effective approach for enhancing emotion regulation dimensions among these students.