The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Irrational Beliefs and Death Attitude in the Elderly

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Psychology, Dezful Branch, Islamic Azad University, Dezful, Iran

Abstract

Aging seems to be a biological process that all living beings, including humans, experience. Hence, it is important to pay careful attention to the elderly and to prevent disorders such as irrational beliefs and negative attitude towarddeath among the elderly. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to consider the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on irrational beliefs and negative attitude towarddeath in the elderly. It was a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest and control group design. The statistical population of the study included all the elderly men in Khoram Abad, Iran in 2020. The sample size consisted of 30 elderly people (60 to 70 years old) selected using available sampling method and according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The experimental group received eight 90-minute weekly sessions of ACT. The applied questionnaires in the study included Ahvaz irrational beliefs test and Wong et al.’s death attitude profile. Data were analyzed using univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS-22 software. The results showed that there was a significant difference between experimental and control groups in terms of irrational beliefs and negative attitude toward deathin posttest (P<0.001). That is, ACT resulted in the decrease of irrational beliefs and negative attitude toward death. According to the findings of the present study, ACT can be suggested as an efficient method in order to reduction of irrational beliefs and negative attitude toward deathin the elderly.

References
Abdolazimi, M., & Niknam, M. (2019). The Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on social support perception and body dissatisfaction in the elderly. Aging Psychology, 5(1), 13-25. [Persian]
Allen, MS., El-Cheikh, S., & Turner, M.J. (2017). A longitudinal investigation of irrational beliefs, hedonic balance and academic achievement. Learning Individual Differance, 58, 41-45.
Ayn beygi, A., Soleimanian, A., & Jajarmi, M. (2020). The Comparison of the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy and existentialism therapy on increasing psychological capital in the elderly. Aging Psychology6(2), 165-178. [Persian]
Barghi Irani, Z., Dehghan Saber, L. (2021). The Comparison of the Effectiveness of Mindfulness based therapy and spiritual therapy on irrational beliefs and anxiety in the older women. Aging Psychology6(4), 339-321. [Persian]
Basharpoor, S., Hoseinikiasari, S.T., Soleymani, E., & Massah, O. (2019). The Role of irrational beliefs and attitudes to death in quality of life of the older people. Salmand: Iranian Journal of Ageing, 14(3), 260-271. [Persian]
Basarpoor, S., Vojodi, B., Atarod, N. (2014). The Relation of Religious Orientation and Attitudes toward Death with Quality of Life and Somatization Symptoms in Women. Quarterly Journal of Health Psycology, 3(10), 80-97. [Persian]
Bunyathikan, T., Soonthornchaiya, R., & Charenboon, T. (2020). The effects of an acceptance and commitment therapy program on the depressive symptoms of elderly patients with major depressive disorder. The Journal of Psychiatric Nursing and Mental Health, 34(2), 118-131.
Fang, S., & Ding, D. (2020). The efficacy of group-based acceptance and commitment therapy on psychological capital and school engagement: A pilot study among Chinese adolescents. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 16, 134-143.
Fasihi, R., Asadi, J., Hassanzadeh, R., & Derakhshanpour, F. (2019). Effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy on irrational beliefs of medical students. Journal of Gorgan University of Medical Sciences20 (4), 61-68. [Persian]

Hadi Toroghi, H., & Masoudi, S. (2019). The Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on the reduction of perceived stress in the elderly afflicted by chronic Pain. Aging Psychology5(1), 1-11. [Persian]

Hajihasani, M., & Naderi, N. (2021). Death anxiety in the elderly: The role of spiritual health and perceived social support. Aging Psychology6(4), 319-309. [Persian]
Hayes, S. C. (2016). Acceptance and commitment therapy, relational frame theory, and the third wave of behavioral and cognitive therapies–republished article. Behavior Therapy47(6), 869-885.
Hayes, S. C., Pistorello, J., & Levin, M. E. (2012). Acceptance and commitment therapy as a unified model of behavior change. The Counseling Psychologist40(7), 976-1002.
Hayes, S.C., & Strosahl, K.D. (2010). A practical guide to acceptance and commitment therapy. USA: Springer.
Hill, M. L., Schaefer, L. W., Spencer, S. D., & Masuda, A. (2020). Compassion-focused acceptance and commitment therapy for women with restrictive eating and problematic body-checking: A multiple baseline across participants study. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 16, 144-152.
Golestanifar, S., & DashtBozorgi, Z. (2020). The Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment based therapy on depression, psychological health and life expectancy of the elderly with nonclinical depression. Aging Psychology6(3), 191-203. [Persian]
Kakavand, A., Baqeri, M., & Shirmohammadi, F. (2016). The Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on stress reductionin afflicted elderly men to heart diseases. Aging Psychology1(3), 169-178. [Persian]
Mansuor, M. (2020). Developmental psychology from birth to Tehran: SAMT. [Persian]
Mirzaeidoostan, Z., Zargar, Y., & Zandi Payam, A. (2019). The Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on death anxiety and mental health in women with HIV in Abadan city, Iran. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology,25 (1), 2-13. [Persian]
Motamedin, M., Badri, R., Ebadi, G., & Ebrahimpour, J. (2012). Standardization of irrational beliefs test (4ibt-a) in Tabriz. Journal Psychology Models Methods, 2(8), 73-87. [Persian]
Narimani, M., & Samadifard, H. (2017). The Relationship between irrational beliefs, mindfulness and cognitive fusion with social health among elderly in Ardabil. Journal of Gerontology, 2 (1), 20-28. [Persian]
Nezamdoust Sedehi, M., Borjali, A., poursharifi, H., Kraskian Mujembari, A., & Seirafi, M. (2018). The Relationship between hope and sense of coherence with psychosocial well-being among older people: mediating role of attitude toward death. Aging Psychology4(3), 179-195. [Persian]
Pirhayati, Z., & Barghi Irani, Z. (2017). The Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment based treatment on mental health and cognitive function in elderly people with age-related macular degradation. Aging Psychology3(2), 137-146. [Persian]
Rostami, M., Rasouli, M., & Kasaee, A. (2018). Comparison of the effect of group counseling based on spirituality-based therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy on Reducing Demoralization of the Elderly. Aging Psychology4(3), 165-178. [Persian]
Safari Mousavi, S. S., Ghazanfari, F., & Mirderikvandi, F. (2019). Effectiveness of Acceptance and vommitment therapy on death anxiety in women with multiple sclerosis in Khorramabad. Journal of Clinical Nursing and Midwifery, 7 (4), 234-241. [Persian]
Samadifard, H., & Narimani, M. (2017). Prediction of death anxiety of elderly based on mindfulness and irrational beliefs. Iranian Journal of Psychiatric Nursing, 5 (3), 15-21. [Persian]
Seyyedjafari, J., Motamedi, A., Mehradsadr, M., Olamaie Kopaei, M., & Hashemian, S. (2017). The Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on resilience in elderlies. Aging Psychology3(1), 21-29. [Persian]
Seyed Fatemi, S.A., Fallahzadeh, H., and Khoshkanesh, A. (2018). The Relationship between attitudes toward death and cognitive beliefs and lifestyle in middle-aged people, First Conference on Human Growth, Development and Health, Tehran. https://civilica.com /doc /825370[Persian]
Wong, P.T.P., Reker, G.T., & Gesser, G. (1994). Death Attitude Profile-Revised: A multidimensional measure of attitudes toward death. In R.A. Neimeyer (Ed.), Death anxiety handbook: Research, instrumentation, and application. (pp. 121-148). Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis.
White RG, Gumley AI, McTaggart J, Rattrie L, McConville D, Cleare S, et al, (2015). Acceptance and commitment therapy for depression following psychosis: An examination of clinically significant change. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 4-3, 203-209.

Keywords


References
Abdolazimi, M., & Niknam, M. (2019). The Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on social support perception and body dissatisfaction in the elderly. Aging Psychology, 5(1), 13-25. [Persian]
Allen, MS., El-Cheikh, S., & Turner, M.J. (2017). A longitudinal investigation of irrational beliefs, hedonic balance and academic achievement. Learning Individual Differance, 58, 41-45.
Ayn beygi, A., Soleimanian, A., & Jajarmi, M. (2020). The Comparison of the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy and existentialism therapy on increasing psychological capital in the elderly. Aging Psychology6(2), 165-178. [Persian]
Barghi Irani, Z., Dehghan Saber, L. (2021). The Comparison of the Effectiveness of Mindfulness based therapy and spiritual therapy on irrational beliefs and anxiety in the older women. Aging Psychology6(4), 339-321. [Persian]
Basharpoor, S., Hoseinikiasari, S.T., Soleymani, E., & Massah, O. (2019). The Role of irrational beliefs and attitudes to death in quality of life of the older people. Salmand: Iranian Journal of Ageing, 14(3), 260-271. [Persian]
Basarpoor, S., Vojodi, B., Atarod, N. (2014). The Relation of Religious Orientation and Attitudes toward Death with Quality of Life and Somatization Symptoms in Women. Quarterly Journal of Health Psycology, 3(10), 80-97. [Persian]
Bunyathikan, T., Soonthornchaiya, R., & Charenboon, T. (2020). The effects of an acceptance and commitment therapy program on the depressive symptoms of elderly patients with major depressive disorder. The Journal of Psychiatric Nursing and Mental Health, 34(2), 118-131.
Fang, S., & Ding, D. (2020). The efficacy of group-based acceptance and commitment therapy on psychological capital and school engagement: A pilot study among Chinese adolescents. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 16, 134-143.
Fasihi, R., Asadi, J., Hassanzadeh, R., & Derakhshanpour, F. (2019). Effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy on irrational beliefs of medical students. Journal of Gorgan University of Medical Sciences20 (4), 61-68. [Persian]
Hadi Toroghi, H., & Masoudi, S. (2019). The Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on the reduction of perceived stress in the elderly afflicted by chronic Pain. Aging Psychology5(1), 1-11. [Persian]
Hajihasani, M., & Naderi, N. (2021). Death anxiety in the elderly: The role of spiritual health and perceived social support. Aging Psychology6(4), 319-309. [Persian]
Hayes, S. C. (2016). Acceptance and commitment therapy, relational frame theory, and the third wave of behavioral and cognitive therapies–republished article. Behavior Therapy47(6), 869-885.
Hayes, S. C., Pistorello, J., & Levin, M. E. (2012). Acceptance and commitment therapy as a unified model of behavior change. The Counseling Psychologist40(7), 976-1002.
Hayes, S.C., & Strosahl, K.D. (2010). A practical guide to acceptance and commitment therapy. USA: Springer.
Hill, M. L., Schaefer, L. W., Spencer, S. D., & Masuda, A. (2020). Compassion-focused acceptance and commitment therapy for women with restrictive eating and problematic body-checking: A multiple baseline across participants study. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 16, 144-152.
Golestanifar, S., & DashtBozorgi, Z. (2020). The Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment based therapy on depression, psychological health and life expectancy of the elderly with nonclinical depression. Aging Psychology6(3), 191-203. [Persian]
Kakavand, A., Baqeri, M., & Shirmohammadi, F. (2016). The Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on stress reductionin afflicted elderly men to heart diseases. Aging Psychology1(3), 169-178. [Persian]
Mansuor, M. (2020). Developmental psychology from birth to Tehran: SAMT. [Persian]
Mirzaeidoostan, Z., Zargar, Y., & Zandi Payam, A. (2019). The Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on death anxiety and mental health in women with HIV in Abadan city, Iran. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology,25 (1), 2-13. [Persian]
Motamedin, M., Badri, R., Ebadi, G., & Ebrahimpour, J. (2012). Standardization of irrational beliefs test (4ibt-a) in Tabriz. Journal Psychology Models Methods, 2(8), 73-87. [Persian]
Narimani, M., & Samadifard, H. (2017). The Relationship between irrational beliefs, mindfulness and cognitive fusion with social health among elderly in Ardabil. Journal of Gerontology, 2 (1), 20-28. [Persian]
Nezamdoust Sedehi, M., Borjali, A., poursharifi, H., Kraskian Mujembari, A., & Seirafi, M. (2018). The Relationship between hope and sense of coherence with psychosocial well-being among older people: mediating role of attitude toward death. Aging Psychology4(3), 179-195. [Persian]
Pirhayati, Z., & Barghi Irani, Z. (2017). The Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment based treatment on mental health and cognitive function in elderly people with age-related macular degradation. Aging Psychology3(2), 137-146. [Persian]
Rostami, M., Rasouli, M., & Kasaee, A. (2018). Comparison of the effect of group counseling based on spirituality-based therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy on Reducing Demoralization of the Elderly. Aging Psychology4(3), 165-178. [Persian]
Safari Mousavi, S. S., Ghazanfari, F., & Mirderikvandi, F. (2019). Effectiveness of Acceptance and vommitment therapy on death anxiety in women with multiple sclerosis in Khorramabad. Journal of Clinical Nursing and Midwifery, 7 (4), 234-241. [Persian]
Samadifard, H., & Narimani, M. (2017). Prediction of death anxiety of elderly based on mindfulness and irrational beliefs. Iranian Journal of Psychiatric Nursing, 5 (3), 15-21. [Persian]
Seyyedjafari, J., Motamedi, A., Mehradsadr, M., Olamaie Kopaei, M., & Hashemian, S. (2017). The Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on resilience in elderlies. Aging Psychology3(1), 21-29. [Persian]
Seyed Fatemi, S.A., Fallahzadeh, H., and Khoshkanesh, A. (2018). The Relationship between attitudes toward death and cognitive beliefs and lifestyle in middle-aged people, First Conference on Human Growth, Development and Health, Tehran. https://civilica.com /doc /825370[Persian]
Wong, P.T.P., Reker, G.T., & Gesser, G. (1994). Death Attitude Profile-Revised: A multidimensional measure of attitudes toward death. In R.A. Neimeyer (Ed.), Death anxiety handbook: Research, instrumentation, and application. (pp. 121-148). Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis.
White RG, Gumley AI, McTaggart J, Rattrie L, McConville D, Cleare S, et al, (2015). Acceptance and commitment therapy for depression following psychosis: An examination of clinically significant change. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 4-3, 203-209.