Volume 18, Issue 3 (2025)                   JMED 2025, 18(3): 47-57 | Back to browse issues page

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Kharaghani R, Ahmadnia E, Mousavi E, Norouzi Z. The efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on feeling of inferiority and academic engagement of midwifery students: a randomized controlled trial. JMED 2025; 18 (3) :47-57
URL: http://edujournal.zums.ac.ir/article-1-2411-en.html
1- Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran
2- Department of Psychology, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran
3- Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran , zahranorouzi23178@gmail.com
Abstract:   (928 Views)
Background and Objective: Midwifery students are more at risk of psychological harm than other students due to their specific professional characteristics. Feeling of inferiority and lack of academic engagement can lead to reduced academic performance and increased psychological problems. This study aimed to investigate the impact of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on feeling of inferiority and academic engagement among midwifery students.
Materials and Methods: This randomized controlled trial involved 2023-2024. Sixty-four undergraduate midwifery students were selected using a convenience sampling method. After obtaining written informed consent, the students were randomly assigned to two groups: one intervention group and one control group, each consisting of 32 participants. The intervention consisted of eight 60-minute sessions (once a week) of group Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. The control group did not receive any intervention. The research tools included a demographic checklist, Yao et al. Inferiority Feeling Questionnaire and Schaufeli et al.  Academic Engagement Questionnaire. The questionnaires were completed by the participants in three stages: before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and one month after the intervention. Relevant statistical tests, using SPSS version 16, were employed to analyze the data.
Results: The results showed that after the intervention, the mean scores of feeling of inferiority and academic engagement between the intervention and control groups were significantly different (p < 0.05). In the intervention group, the mean of overall feeling of inferiority before the intervention was 58.12 (24.06); after the intervention, it decreased to 59.52  (21.13) and at follow-up, it further declined to 51.55 (17.30). In terms of overall academic engagement, the mean scores before the intervention were 53.47 (9.74), which changed to 58.21 (7.22) after the intervention and increased slightly to 58.62 (7.40) at follow-up. For the control group, the mean scores for general feeling of inferiority were as follows: before the intervention, it was 69.38 (26.73); after the intervention, it was 73.75 (28.06); and at follow-up, it was 73.59 (22.11). Regarding general academic engagement, the scores were 49.38 (4.31) before the intervention, 48.94 (4.50) after the intervention, and 47.84 (3.06) at follow-up.
Conclusion: Based on the study's findings, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is recommended to enhance students' feeling of inferiority and academic engagement. It seems that teaching this counseling method to students in the form of a workshop will help them deal with academic and clinical problems more efficiently.


 
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Article Type : Orginal Research | Subject: Medical Education
Received: 2025/02/5 | Accepted: 2025/07/14 | Published: 2025/10/1

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