The Effectiveness of Consciousness Raising Training on Reducing Anxiety and Depression: A Case Study of Ilam High schools

Abstract

The current study aims to investigate the effectiveness of consciousness training on reducing anxiety and depression of first and second female graders in high school. It used a quasi-experimental research method. Moreover, it utilized cluster randomized sampling; hence, the high schools were randomly selected from the city of Ilam. Beck and Zong anxiety questionnaires were administered among 148 first and second female graders in high school. The students who obtained the scores from 4 to 7 with reference to Beck Depression Inventory were divided into both an experimental (i.e., Depression) group and a control group. Furthermore, the students obtaining the scores of 45 and above on Anxiety Zung Inventory were randomly assigned to both an experimental (i.e., Anxiety) group and a control group. Totally, 43 students were chosen for the two groups. Also, consciousness raising training was applied to 23 students in both experimental groups of Anxiety and Depression. The results of the study show that consciousness raising training can significantly reduce anxiety and depression in high school students. The results, also, entail important implications in promoting students' mental health treatment. Besides, the treatment of consciousness raising is considered as one of the new therapeutic approaches to modify and control the cognitive processes of students.