Effect of online acceptance and commitment therapy group intervention on psychological flexibility of undergraduate students with facial negative physical self

Xinxin SHEN; Jian LIU; Dandan LIU; Lan TANG; Tian CAI

ABSTRACT

Objective:

To investigate the effect of online acceptance and commitment therapy(ACT) group intervention on psychological flexibility of undergraduate students with facial negative physical self.

Methods:

From March to June 2022, thirty-two undergraduates with facial negative physical self-image were recruited, assessed and selected from a university in Zhejiang Province.The subjects were randomly divided into the training group( n=16) and the control group( n=16). The training group received 20 days of online ACT group intervention, while the control group kept waiting.The cognitive fusion questionnaire(CFQ), acceptance and action questionnaire version Ⅱ(AAQ-Ⅱ) and negative physical self scale-face(NPSS-F) were used to measure the two groups before and after intervention and 1 month after intervention.Repeated measurement analysis of variance(ANOVA) conducted was used to compare scale results with SPSS 26.0.

Results:

(1)The interaction effect between group and time of CFQ scores was statistically significant( F(1.625, 48.755)=4.316, P=0.025, ηp2=0.126). After intervention, the CFQ score of the training group was significantly lower than those of the control group(34.38±8.66, 40.94±8.82, P<0.05). The CFQ scores of the training group after intervention and 1 month after intervention(36.00±9.49) were both significantly lower than those before intervention(41.87±8.72, all P<0.05). (2)The interaction effect between group and time of AAQ-Ⅱ scores was marginally statistically significant( F(2, 29)=3.009, P=0.065, ηp2=0.172). After intervention, the AAQ-Ⅱ score of the training group was significantly lower than those of the control group(24.12±4.97, 28.69±6.78, P<0.05). The AAQ-Ⅱ score of the training group after intervention was significantly lower than those before intervention(28.75±6.11, P<0.05). (3)The interaction effect between group and time of NPSS-F scores was not statistically significant( F(2, 29)=1.509, P=0.238, ηp2=0.094), while the main effect of time was marginally statistically significant between the two groups( F(2, 29)=3.315, P=0.051, ηp2=0.186). The NPSS-F score of the training group after intervention was significantly lower than those before intervention(16.06±6.67, 18.81±7.85, P<0.05).

Conclusion:

Online ACT group intervention can effectively reduce the cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance of undergraduate students with facial negative physical self, then can improve their psychological flexibility.