Process of change and efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for anxiety and depression symptoms in adolescents: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

INTRODUCTION: Recent literature suggests that acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) may be an effective approach for treating symptoms of depression and anxiety symptoms in adolescents. This review meta-analyzes the efficacy of ACT on adolescent depression and anxiety, emphasizing the role of process variables (i.e., psychological flexibility). METHODS: We systematically searched MedLine, PsycInfo and Scopus for randomized controlled trials (RCT) investigating the effect of ACT on anxiety/depression in adolescents. Studies were combined using the inverse variance method in a random effects model. Additional subgroup and meta-regression analyses were performed, and risk of bias was assessed. The review was pre-registered (PROSPERO registration number: CRD42023483300). RESULTS: Our review included 27 RCTs with a total of 2860 participants. ACT did not outperform CBT but was significantly more effective than other active controls (e.g., treatment as usual) for depression symptoms and inactive controls for all outcomes. ACT was more effective than inactive controls for all outcomes. Improvements in psychological flexibility significantly predicted reductions in between-group depression and anxiety. Younger age and a higher percentage of women predicted better outcomes for some outcomes. LIMITATIONS: It should be noted that this results may be limited by the fact that all included studies were rated as having a high risk of bias. This is mainly due to the self-reported nature of the measures and the lack of crucial methodological information (e.g., process of randomization and allocation, treatment fidelity assessment). CONCLUSION: Our findings support ACT's efficacy for adolescents, particularly in treating depression symptoms. The proposed mechanism of change (psychological flexibility) plays a significant role in the improvements. ACT is comparable in efficacy to CBT, suggesting its potential as an alternative to traditional cognitive-behavioral approaches.

Validación y propiedades psicométricas del “Cuestionario de valores de vida” (VLQ) para población española / Validation and psychometric properties of the "Life Values Questionnaire" (VLQ) for the Spanish population

El objetivo de este trabajo es presentar la adaptación española del “Cuestionario de valores de vida” (VLQ; Wilson et al., 2010), aportando datos sobre sus propiedades psicométricas. Se aplicó el cuestionario a 531 participantes de entre 18 y 70 años (M= 28,73), siendo el 70% mujeres universitarias. El análisis factorial exploratorio mostró tres factores principales: comunidad, cercanía y obligaciones, cuyos niveles de consistencia interna fueron de 0,70, 0,71 y 0,68, respectivamente, mientras que para la puntuación total fue de 0,71 que resultaron similares a los del original. En cuanto a la validez concurrente, el VLQ mostró correlaciones moderadas con el “Cuestionario de valores personales” (Schwartz, 1992) (r= 0,47) y con el “Cuestionario de instantánea vital” (Ruiz-García et al., 2021; Tsai et al., 2023) (r= 0,65). Se discute la utilidad del VLQ para evaluar y hacer seguimiento a los procesos clave involucrados en los cambios clínicos, así como para mejorar y evaluar los valores personales íntimamente relacionados con la calidad de vida, el sentido de la vida y el bienestar de la comunidad. (AU)

Enhancing students' well-being with a unified approach based on contextual behavioural science: A randomised experimental school-based intervention.

A new generation of interventions has begun to move towards principles of acceptance that deal with the context and function of psychological events. The aim of this paper is to analyse the effectiveness of a brief contextual behavioural intervention to improve the psychological well-being of secondary school students. This intervention represents a unified model with key processes based on contextual behavioural science, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP). We conducted an intervention with 94 students (age range 17-19 years), randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 50) or control group (n = 44). Participants took a pretest and post-test of distress, life satisfaction, psychological flexibility and mindfulness. The intervention consisted of three sessions of 1 h each. The results showed significant differences between the groups in distress and significant differences for the interaction (group × pre-post) in all the other variables. The intervention had greater benefits for girls than for boys. These results may provide a breakthrough, thus leading to a process of evidence-based therapies, which would be responsible for inducing psychological improvements in brief periods, in a population with an increasing risk of distress.

The efficacy of functional-analytic psychotherapy and acceptance and commitment therapy (fact) for public employees / La eficacia de la psicoterapia analítica-funcional y la terapia de aceptación y compromiso (FACT) para empleados públicos

Background: The literature is replete with evidence regarding the impact of psychological distress in the workplace. Traditionally, worksite interventions to enhance mental health have been carried out in groups. This study aimed to implement a brief individual program in the workplace through the combination of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Public Administration employees. Method: One hundred and six public employees from a Spanish city council completed pretest measures and forty-three met the inclusion criteria. The participants' scores on distress, burnout, psychological flexibility, depression, anxiety and stress were examined in a pretest-posttest design with a waiting list control group and random assignment. Thirty-eight employees completed the intervention (FACT group= 19; Waiting list control group= 19). The intervention lasted three individual sessions using a protocol with the processes of FAP and ACT, resulting in a protocol named FACT. Results: The FACT group showed statistically significant improvements in distress, burnout, psychological flexibility and anxiety compared with the waiting list control group. Conclusion: These results provide a breakthrough and initial support for the inclusion of FAP in the workplace along with the integration with brief ACT in individual sessions to improve employees' mental health

Antecedentes: la literatura está repleta de evidencia sobre las repercusiones del malestar psicológico en el trabajo. Tradicionalmente, las intervenciones para mejorar la salud mental en el trabajo se han llevado a cabo en grupo. El objetivo de este estudio fue implementar un programa individual breve en el entorno laboral, a través de la combinación de la Psicoterapia Analítica Funcional (FAP) y la Terapia de Aceptación y Compromiso (ACT) para empleados de la Administración pública. Método: ciento seis funcionarios de un ayuntamiento español rellenaron las medidas pretest y cuarenta y tres cumplieron los criterios de inclusión. Las puntuaciones de los participantes en malestar, burnout, flexibilidad psicológica, depresión, ansiedad y estrés fueron analizadas en un diseño experimental pre-post con un grupo de control en lista de espera y asignación aleatoria. Treinta y ocho empleados completaron la intervención (grupo FACT= 19; grupo control en lista de espera= 19). Resultados: el grupo FACT tras tres sesiones mostró mejoras estadísticamente significativas en malestar, ansiedad, burnout y flexibilidad psicológica en comparación con el grupo de control en lista de espera. Conclusión: estos resultados proporcionan una innovación y apoyo inicial para la incorporación de FAP en el entorno laboral, además de su integración con ACT breve para mejorar la salud de los empleados

The efficacy of functional-analytic psychotherapy and acceptance and commitment therapy (FACT) for public employees.

BACKGROUND: The literature is replete with evidence regarding the impact of psychological distress in the workplace. Traditionally, worksite interventions to enhance mental health have been carried out in groups. This study aimed to implement a brief individual program in the workplace through the combination of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Public Administration employees. METHOD: One hundred and six public employees from a Spanish city council completed pretest measures and forty-three met the inclusion criteria. The participants´ scores on distress, burnout, psychological flexibility, depression, anxiety and stress were examined in a pretest-posttest design with a waiting list control group and random assignment. Thirty-eight employees completed the intervention (FACT group= 19; Waiting list control group= 19). The intervention lasted three individual sessions using a protocol with the processes of FAP and ACT, resulting in a protocol named FACT. RESULTS: The FACT group showed statistically significant improvements in distress, burnout, psychological flexibility and anxiety compared with the waiting list control group. CONCLUSION: These results provide a breakthrough and initial support for the inclusion of FAP in the workplace along with the integration with brief ACT in individual sessions to improve employees’ mental health.