Efficacy of Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy in the Management of State-Trait Anxiety Amongst Trainee-Teachers

Abstract

This study investigates the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBGT) in the managementof state- trait anxiety amongst trainee-teachers of Bentolhoda Teacher Education Center, in Boushehr City, Iran. One hundred and twenty participants employed for the study were randomly assigned into experimental (N=60) and control (N=60) groups based on their score (>24) on the General Health Questionnaire28 (GHQ; Goldberg, 1981). All the participants were administered the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; Spielberger, 1981) before and after treatment. The students in the experimental group received cognitive behavioral intervention programme, while the control group is kept immune to the effect of this special variable. The intervention programme was designed for a period of 3 months of 12 two-hour sessions (2 sessions per week, 2 hours, each session). The pre and post treatment scores of the students on State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were subjected to Mixed between-within subjects ANOVA. The results indicated that the experimental group had significant reduction in their levels of state-trait anxiety than the control group after treatment. The study is helpful for psychologists, teachers, and other mental health professionals to help people prevent the adverse effects of stress, and is thus highly applicable to those who have already become the victims of the stress related problems like anxiety and depression.