Comparison of the Effectiveness of Positive Thinking Group Training and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Psychological Well-being and Risky Behaviors of Patients with HIV

Abstract

Background: The purpose of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of positive thinking group training and acceptance and commitment therapy on psychological well-being and risky behaviors of patients with HIV.

Methods: A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest research method was used with a control group. Accordingly, 45 HIV patients, referring to Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran, were selected and randomly assigned to groups 1-3, including positive thinking (n=15), ACT (n=15), and control (n=15) groups, respectively. Scales of Psychological Well-being by Ryff (1989) and Risk Behaviors Standard Scale (2010) were administered for all three groups (pretest). Subsequently, the participants of the experimental groups attended eight 90-minute sessions of group training.  The posttest was performed two weeks after training. Multivariate and univariate analyses of variance (MANCOVA and ANCOVA) were used to analyze the data.

Results: The results showed that positive thinking group training was effective in promoting psychological well-being and reducing high-risk behaviors. The results also demonstrated that acceptance and commitment therapy was effective in promoting psychological well-being and reducing high-risk behaviors. According to the findings, there was no significant difference between the effectiveness of positive thinking group training and acceptance and commitment therapy on psychological well-being and risky behaviors of people living with HIV (p >0.05).

Conclusion: Both educational interventions (positive thinking and ACT approach) can increase psychological well-being and reduce high-risk behaviors of HIV+ patients, and there was no significant difference between the two intervention approaches. Therefore, both approaches have beneficial effects on improving the quality of life among people living with HIV.