The Effectiveness of Dialectical Behavior Therapy on Life Expectancy, Self-Care and Depression of Breast Cancer Patients

Nilofar Saeedi; Hamid Atashpour

doi:10.18502/tbj.v24i1.18927

Nilofar Saeedi Master's student in clinical psychology, Department of Psychology, Isfahan(Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran
Hamid Atashpour Associate Professor Department of Psychology, Department of Psychology, Isfahan(Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/tbj.v24i1.18927

Keywords: Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Depression, Life Expectancy, Self-Care, Cancer Patients

Abstract

Introduction: People with breast cancer face psychological challenges such as depression, reduced life expectancy and deficiencies self-care. The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of dialectical behavior therapy on life expectancy, self-care and depression of cancer patients in Isfahan city.

Methods: The current research method was quantitative and of the type of semi-experimental studies with a pre-test-post-test design and a control group. The statistical population of the current study included people with breast cancer in Isfahan city who had referred to health centers in Isfahan city in 2024. In this study, 30 women with breast cancer who were diagnosed with this disease by a doctor were selected by convenience sampling method and were randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. The people in the control and experimental groups completed life expectancy, self-care and depression questionnaires in two stages of pre-test and post-test. Multivariate covariance test and spss-24 software were used for data analysis.

Results: The results showed that dialectical behavior therapy significantly increased the mean life expectancy and self-care scores of participants in the experimental group in the post-test phase compared to the pre-test phase of the control group. On the other hand, in the experimental group, the mean depression score in the post-test phase was significantly lower than the pre-test phase compared to the control group (p<0/05).

Conclusion: From the findings of the present study, it can be concluded that psychologists and psychiatrists can use dialectical behavior therapy and its techniques to increase life expectancy, self-care and reduce depression in women with breast cancer.