The Effectiveness of Adjunctive Mindfulness Therapy with a Unified Protocol  on the Emotional Disorders and Sleep Problems of Adolescents

Mahnaz  Sarallahi; Roya  Ahmadi; Samaneh  Soltanabadi; Roya  Farnoodimehr; Aliakbar   Foroughi

doi:10.18502/jss.v5i4.7805

Mahnaz Sarallahi MSc in Psychology, Department of Psychology, School of Psychology and Education, Islamic Azad University, South Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran
Roya Ahmadi MSc Student in Clinical Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology, School of Medicine, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
Samaneh Soltanabadi MSc in Clinical Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Roya Farnoodimehr Department of Clinical Psychology, School of Medicine, Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah Branch, Kermanshah, Iran
Aliakbar Foroughi Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Psychology, School of Medicine, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jss.v5i4.7805

Keywords: Unified protocol; Emotional disorders; Sleep; Mindfulness

Abstract

Background and Objective: The results of different studies have indicated the comorbidity between emotional disorders and sleep problems. However, no study has compared the outcome of mindfulness and unified protocol on the emotional problems and the sleep quality of the adolescents with emotional disorders.

Materials and Methods: The current investigation was a quasi-experimental study with a control group, which was conducted in 2019. The participants included adolescents with emotional disorders in control (n = 15) and experimental (n = 16) groups. Both groups received 14 sessions of therapy. The assessments were performed in three stages: pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. The measurements included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED).

Results: The mean age of the participants in the experimental and control groups was 13.06 and 13.05 years, respectively. Given the results, both treatments alleviated the sleep and emotional problems of the adolescents diagnosed with emotional disorders. However, the combined treatment of mindfulness and the unified protocol led to more improvements. The calculated effect size of this treatment was 0.21 for sleep quality and 0.24 for the SCARED questionnaire.

Conclusion: Based on the findings, utilizing mindfulness as a supplementary therapeutic method can enhance the chances of reductions in the emotional problems and the improvements of sleep quality in the adolescents with emotional disorders.